Who Knew
by crimson.is.my.color
Summary: It's the end of the Daimatou Enbu and Fairy Tail rejoices their victory. Now that the guild has regained their place at the top, will everything start to go smoothly for them now or will new problems arise? (my very first fanfic so please be gentle with the comments onegai shimasu) NaLu
1. Chapter 1

Who Knew?

**Summary: **It's the end of the Daimatou Enbu and Fairy Tail rejoices their victory. Now that the guild has regained their place at the top, will everything start to go smoothly for them now or will new problems arise? (my very first fanfic so please be gentle with the comments onegai shimasu) NaLu

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters, Hiro Mashima-sensei does, but I own new characters that I will be adding to the story.

* * *

**CHAPTER ONE: CELEBRATION**

The Daimatou Enbu has just ended in Crocus and the results had been in favor of Fairy Tail. Upon beating Sabertooth, the once weakest guild for seven years in all of Fiore has now made a boisterous comeback and regained their reputation as the no. 1 guild. After days of competing with other guilds, surely they must want to rest and regain lost energy from the past few days –

CHEERS!

Or not

In the small hall of the guild, a celebration has been made for winning the tournament. Everyone is doing their own little celebration, Cana has just finished downing two barrels of sake and is about to go on her third barrel, Mira and Kinana are busy serving everyone, Natsu and Gray have just started an eating competition that turned into a big brawl with almost everyone caught up in it, Erza is quietly sitting on the bar watching the whole scene with Wendy and Charle. Lucy and Levy are sitting just a few seats from Erza. Juvia is secretly cheering for Gray from her seat and Master is drinking his beer while laughing loudly.

"It's really amazing how the men of this guild find a reason to fight each other even though they just suffered a beating from the Daimatou Enbu." Charle pointedly said to no one. Wendy nervously smiled at this.

"Let's just let them be for now. That's just how they show their happiness for winning the tournament." Erza said after finishing her very special limited edition deluxe strawberry tart cake that she'd been saving up until the end of the tournament.

"B-but wouldn't the guild be destroyed if this fight continued, Erza-san?"

"Don't worry Wendy; these things are usual in our guild isn't it? Besides, if things get serious the Master or I will intervene."

"W-well i-if you say so."

"Juvia thinks Gray-sama looks hot while fighting. Aah _Gray~sama_…"

Lucy and Levy both exchanged nervous glances while watching Juvia wave her butt in the air while cheering for Gray to beat the hell out of everyone else.

"Ne Lu-chan, how are you feeling now? I mean you're not feeling down on yourself about the tournament now right"

"I'm actually a lot better now, Levy-chan. Thanks for asking." Lucy smiled. She had not won any event in the tournament but no one really blamed her for it but still, even after it all ended, she still feels that she has to get a lot stronger to be able to keep up with everyone.

"I know you're only saying that, I can read you like a book Lu-chan. You did great in the tournament especially against that Raven witch. If only they didn't cheat then you'd be the victor of that fight. That was some awesome magic you did back then."

"Thanks. But I still need to train harder especially now that I have all 12 zodiac keys with me. Believe me I'm ok with it now, I did my best but I need to try harder to catch up with the whole team." Lucy said giving Levy a determined look.

Erza, Wendy, Charle and Levy all gave Lucy an approving look.

"That's the spirit Lucy, but don't push yourself too much, I'll help you in training if you want. How about we start tomorrow?" Offered Erza. Mira then went over to the bar and listened in to the conversation. Everyone jolted from their seats even Juvia who was pre-occupied on staring over Gray's shirtless body.

"T-thanks Erza, but I think I'll do my training by myself tomo-"

"Good then it's settled. I'll wait for you outside the guild then we'll start to practice your combat ability first." Erza continued while starting to rise up from her chair.

"No Erza, you see-"

"Be here by 9am tomorrow. Don't be late." Erza said with a fiery look in her eyes.

"She's completely ignoring Lu-chan" said Levy

"I feel sorry for her" Charle said

"Lucy-san" Wendy said

"W-w-wait-t a minute Erza -"

"I insist" Erza said with one of her death glares

"O-ok" Lucy said and she Erza was off. Lucy was left stunned and slowly slid down to her knees blanking out from that traumatic stare she got from Erza, but now she just realized that she'll be blanking out more tomorrow after a bout with the Titania.

_How do I get out of this one? Erza is pretty determined to start Spartan training by tomorrow and why did it have to be me of all people?_ Lucy thought while silent tears ran down her cheeks. The thought of being Erza's first piece of meat after the tournament really doesn't look good for her.

"Poor girl" Charle whispered.

"Charle! It's ok Lucy-san I'll be there to heal you if anything happens." Wendy added

"Do your best Lucy" joined Mira

"That really doesn't comfort me right now. Why did it turn out to this?" Lucy said while crying more beside Levy.

"My, my" added Mira while placing a palm on her cheek.

"However, don't you think we should stop this riot first?" said Charle while pointing over a lump of passed out mages with Natsu shouting and breathing fire on top of them with Elfman, Gray and Gajeel beating the crap out of each other.

Everyone on the bar just sweatdropped and stared with Master Makarov laughing drunk over the counter with Mira smiling over everything.

"My, my everyone's really hyped up" chimed Mira. Then suddenly Mira had a spark of realization in her mind.

"Hey Lucy, why not try to ask help from Natsu? After all, I think he likes you a lot to stand up against Erza in your stead. Aaaww..that would be like one of those fairy tales that I used to read to Elfman and Lisanna whenever they got nightmares back when we were little, about princes and princesses that end up with kisses and weddings and babies and more kisses and more babies and aaaww you'd be the perfect Fairy Tail couple!" squealed Mira while blushing and with her hands clapped together against Lucy's hands.

"W-what are you talking about Mira-san? Natsu and I aren't like that we're just partners, a team." Lucy said with a slight blush in her face.

"Oh really? Well judging by how Natsu reacted towards you in the past couple of days, I'd say I'm pretty sure that he feels something for you," teased Mira. Everybody else in the bar broke out a knowing smile and continued to press Lucy's buttons.

"Why are you all looking at me like that? Come on guys, you know Natsu doesn't even think of things like that, for him I'm just a friend, nothing more, whatever made you think that he had feelings for me?" Lucy challenged being pretty sure that they all know of Natsu's character that they would not be able to think of anything romantic that Natsu did for her. Oh how wrong she was.

"Well, remember your fight with Flare? Natsu was the one who helped you out and when you were crying after you lost the match he was the one cheered you up, didn't he?" Levy said. "Well he was just looking out for me, that's all. Besides I know all of you would have done the same if you knew." Defended Lucy.

"I do remember Natsu accompanying and looking after you after that match. If I didn't stop him, he would have went to check up on you while you were showering," Erza added after hearing Levy's statement.

"Come on Erza that's just typical Natsu gesture. He's just being thoughtful, AS A FRIEND," Lucy countered.

"Um I do remember one incident when Charle, Grandine and I were abducted instead of you that Natsu-san got agitated after realizing that you were being targeted and back when Arcadios-san mentioned they needed you as a Celestial Mage for Eclipse, he suddenly stood up against him with a mad look on his face asking why they should need you. Back then I thought he was being romantic to you Lucy-san," Wendy added in.

"Well-" Lucy tried to defend but Juvia thought it was a perfect opportunity to keep Lucy away from Gray so she quickly butted in.

"Wasn't it also romantic when Natsu-san rushed to catch Lucy-san after Minerva dropped her back in the Naval Battle event? I remember how fierce he looked after Lucy-san was beaten almost to death." Juvia said.

"Oh yeah, I remember that! I think I've never seen Natsu that mad even after knowing him for such a long time," Mira said with hearts on her eyes.

"If you think about it now, it does seem like Natsu really likes Lu-chan considering how protective he gets over her and how his emotions get fueled up whenever something happens to Lu-chan, like back in the Phantom and the Infinity Clock incident," Levy thoughtfully said.

"You guys are way over your heads, as far as I'm concerned, there's really nothing going on between me and Natsu. If you ask me I'd say he has the hots for Lisanna." Lucy said with her blush deepening even more.

"Well Natsu and Lisanna are childhood friends, but I think their relationship is more like that of a brother and sister." Levy countered Lucy. "Besides, if your not so guilty, then why are blushing like mad Lu-chan?" Levy added.

"I-I'm just embarrassed that's all." Lucy said.

And with that said the girls continued discussing random things about each and everyone's love interests while drinking their booze and disregarding the fight that the boys have started.

* * *

Several hours passed with the guild continuing on celebrating, brawling, singing (led by an over-enthusiastic Gajeel and Mira in a bunny outfit with Lisanna and Kinana dancing in the background), dancing, shouting and God-knows-what else they do to celebrate, the guild finally settled down to a complete silence with everyone either drunk or passed out from the brawl that suddenly erupted after Gajeel's second song. The only people conscious during the time were Lucy and Mira.

"Mira-san, I'm heading back home now," Lucy called out to Mira who was finishing up cleaning the bar and closing up the guild hall.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay here for the night? You've had a lot to drink for yourself too, will you be alright?" Mira asked Lucy who was a bit flustered from drinking.

"Don't worry Mira-san I'm fine, I think I can still make it back home. Besides, I have to rest up before Erza makes a mince meat out of me tomorrow," Lucy regretfully said.

"My,my…well, be careful then. Just close the gate for me on your way out," Mira then waved and bade Lucy good night.

"Thanks, you too." And with that Lucy walked her way home while thinking deep in her head about what they have been talking about earlier about Natsu possibly having feelings for her. After thinking back about it, she did notice that Natsu was very kind and overprotective towards her. She also took note of the times when she'd catch him stealing glances at her during missions and how warm and comforting his smiles were for her. She knows that she could just be over thinking things but whenever she thinks about it, she couldn't help herself from breaking out a smile and feeling that maybe, just maybe…

"Natsu likes me?" Lucy thought out loud while standing in front of her apartment door and a small blush crept its way on her cheeks making them feel hot.

"Whoa, why am I thinking this way?! I-I mean Natsu and I are j-just friends, right? His behavior is just normal. It's because of our talk earlier, yeah that's why, it's just because of that that I'm thinking this way ha ha ha…" Lucy nervously said to herself. " I need to rest," Lucy then opened her door and let herself in. She took a short shower and went to bed with just her towel on not even bothering to put on her pajamas because she was really feeling tired now. However, even under the bed sheets and her lack of clothes, she couldn't help but feel warm, too warm, as if her bed was completely heated by something.

_Heated? W-wait d-don't tell me_. And as she slowly looked from behind her as she was facing the opposite side of her room when she went to bed, she was immediately shocked to see the very familiar spikes of pink hair and a pair of strong and warm arms that suddenly wrapped themselves to her body as she turned to face the other occupant of the bed.

Natsu was suddenly hugging Lucy and murmuring incoherently while sleeping. Lucy's mind was racing and her heartbeat was rapidly increasing. Here she was with Natsu, alone in her apartment in the middle of the night, embracing her barely covered body.

_H-how did he get in here again? And why didn't I notice? _Lucy was brought back from here thoughts when Natsu hugged her tighter and she was pulled closer to his body. _I need to wake him up_. Lucy then nudged Natsu and tried to wake him up.

"H-hey baka wake up!"

No response

"Natsu! Wake up!"

"umm…"

"Damn it Natsu! Wake the hell up!"

And with that Natsu woke up only to raise his head and smile at Lucy which made her blush. _Why is he smiling like that?_ Lucy thought to herself.

"Hi Lucy, what's the matter?" Natsu asked Lucy half-asleep.

"Idiot! What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see you, you left the guild earlier so I followed you here"

"How'd you get in anyway?"

"The window"

"Figures. Anyway, I want you out of my bed and out of my room NOW!"

"No can do Lucy, it feels good here in your bed," Natsu said while hugging Lucy tighter and drifting back to sleep.

"N-natsu s-stop it! Go back to your home or the guild and stop hugging me" Lucy said while blushing profusely and pulling Natsu off of her with little effort. _I can't pull him off, he's too strong for me and I feel light-headed from the alcohol_.

"Ne Lucy, why are you dressed in your towel?" Natsu asked again.

"I-I just came from the bath, could you please just let go of me? You can sleep in the couch for all I care just not here on the bed." Lucy blushed after having Natsu noticed her lack of clothing.

"But I want to sleep her with you. Besides, your body's so soft and I like it." Natsu said to Lucy giving her a small smile making Lucy blush even more.

"W-wait Natsu are you drunk? Get off the bed now please, I need to sleep"

"You know, you really look pretty" Natsu then moved his head closer to Lucy.

"Natsu stop" _He's drunk I have to snap him out of it_

But before Lucy could open her mouth to say something, Natsu had already pressed his lips against Lucy's. Lucy was shocked because she never imagined that Natsu would ever kiss her. At the moment, she thought of pushing him off of her but the moment she placed her hands on his chest, Natsu placed a palm on her chest while the other roamed her thigh. Lucy gasped which Natsu took advantage of by sticking his tongue in her mouth and exploring it. Lucy was dazed. She knew she had to pull him off her but the heat that was building up inside her and the alcohol kept fogging up her mind. Before she knew it, they were both enjoying themselves getting as much pleasure from each other as possible, letting the alcohol take control of their consciousness. When they both reached the end of their ecstacy, they just snuggled with each other with Natsu wrapping an arm around Lucy as she dozed off and kissing her forehead while whispering good night and falling asleep himself.

* * *

**A/N: **first chapter done! Hope you like it, forgive me for any mistakes in the story. I first though of continuing with the lemon part but I don't think I would do so good in the first try so sorry to disappoint you, if you could give me advice then I could try to make one on the next chapters or on a different story.

To clarify things, Lucy gained the 12 keys after Yukino surrendered Libra and Pisces after the Daimatou Enbu. The arc in the manga is still ongoing and I don't want to mix it in with this story especially the controversy with Eclipse because it will only make it confusing to those who aren't updated to the manga. Anyways, Rate and Review please


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters, Hiro Mashima-sensei does, but I own new characters that I will be adding to the story.

* * *

**CHAPTER TWO: AWKWARD AND NORMAL**

The next morning, Lucy woke up in Natsu's arms. She snuggled closer and gave a soft sigh until she finally caught up with what just happened last night. She opened her eyes abruptly and did what every normal person would do in that situation.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

With the loud scream that Lucy belted out near Natsu's ears, he jolted up and practically stood up the bed with an alarmed look and in a fighting stance. With nothing on, Lucy could see Natsu standing high and proud in front of her face.

"W-what happened? Lucy what's wrong? Why are you sweating like that? Are you sick" Natsu asked Lucy who was blanking out at that moment and when Natsu placed a hand on her shoulder, she was brought back to her consciousness and smacked Natsu who flew right across the room.

"What the heck! Lucy what was that for?!" Natsu asked while rubbing his cheek which was forming a bruise.

"What the hell just happened last night?!" Lucy asked while covering her body.

Natsu looked confused for a moment and then the events from last night played back on his head. He suddenly blushed hard and tried to explain to Lucy.

"W-wait I can explain, you see last night, I saw you walk out the guild and I followed you back here, and then you were in a bath towel and then this happened and that and then…but you were…I mean you looked…ah damn it…" he was lost for words and just couldn't think straight so instead he quickly put on his clothes and dashed outside leaving Lucy panicking from what happened.

_Oh my god, did we just…I mean did we…? Argh this isn't right, did we really do THAT?_ Lucy couldn't think straight, so she went to take a bath. _That was my first time, HE was my first, I mean deep down I did like it because I thought that he liked me too but seeing his reaction earlier, he probably regretted doing it. How am I going to face him in the guild now?_ Lucy was confused, after sorting out her thoughts she finally figured out that she did have feeling s for the salamander but she was afraid that Natsu didn't like her back and that what happened between them was just an accident.

_Yeah, he probably thinks it as an accident. I just have to act normal towards him, yeah that's what I'll do, I mean knowing him he probably thinks nothing of it._ She then felt a bit relieved but deep down she hoped for more, that Natsu would confess to her that he likes her too, that he did that knowing that he loved her deeply and that he didn't regret it.

* * *

Two weeks passed and the guild was back to normal again – almost. After their victory in the tournament, the mission requests poured in one after the other and some of their old mages returned with new ones lining up to be part of Fiore's number one guild. Everyone was busy taking up missions but one could easily notice the awkwardness between two mages from the same team. After their _escapade_, Natsu and Lucy have been very aloof with each other. Everyone quickly noticed their strange behavior with each other. The usually noisy and hyperactive Natsu was now acting timid when in close proximity with Lucy. Lucy, on the other hand, kept her smile but you can easily see that there's something hidden behind it especially the way that she kept looking nervous about something. Erza, Gray, Wendy, Happy and Charle have all seen how the two interact like they were nothing but casual teammates like saying their hi and hellos, asking and answering each other's questions, laughing together with the guild but the way that they can't even make eye contact with each other, giving off nervous and unsure smiles, and jumping whenever they sense the presence of one another especially when they make skin contact, makes the whole team want to squeeze out the answer from both of them on why they are acting the way they are right now.

Erza was the first to lose her patience and just cornered the two when they were returning from a mission in Clover Town.

"All right spill. What is going on between the two of you?" Erza asked the two intent on knowing a concrete answer.

"N-nothing," the two quickly answered.

"Nothing? What kind of fool do you think I am? I'm not dense to not notice that there IS something wrong with the two of you, NOW SPILL! Or would you rather have me cut the answers from the two of you?" Erza said while requipping to her Purgatory Armor to make a point.

Natsu and Lucy quickly got the point and just stammered to look for an answer that will satisfy Erza.

"Wait a minute Erza-san, I don't think you have to be too brutal to the two of them," Wendy meekly said to Erza. She then looked at the pair and said, "Natsu-san, Lucy-san if there's something wrong you can tell us, I mean after the party the two of you just became distant and everyone in the guild became worried."

"Wendy's right, you two have been completely zoning out and it's not being helpful for the team especially in missions, besides we're a team so we should never keep secrets from one another," Gray added to Wendy's statement.

"Ne Lucy? Did Natsu do something bad to you?" Happy asked Lucy.

"N-no! of course not Happy what made you think that?" Lucy quickly answered. She took a small glance at Natsu and she could see that he was looking anxious and a bit unsure about something. _He really regretted that. Erza wants answers, what should I tell her?_

"Well, if that's not the case then what is causing your behavior?" Charle asked.

"Um well you see…" Natsu started feeling that Gray had a point and that maybe they would understand if he told them what happened but before he could answer Lucy jumped in answered for him.

"We just had an accident, that's all. We could tell you but just not now, right Natsu?" Lucy said.

Natsu looked at Lucy with surprise in his face. _ Does she really think of it as an accident? I guess she really regrets what happened and here I thought I somehow had a chance to tell her_. "Yeah, that's right," Natsu answered while rubbing the back of his head with a small goofy grin in his face.

Erza was looking dead straight at their faces. She knew she was being pushy to get the answers she wanted but seeing the two of them like they just met each other really irks her. All of them waited for Erza's reaction and they all breathed a sigh of relief when she changed back to her normal armor.

"If you both say so then I'll yield for now, I'm sorry if I went overboard, I just felt like a rift was forming between the two of you. Well, we need to get back to the guild. Let's go." With that, Erza trudged ahead with her mountain of luggage.

"Well you heard her, next time flame-breath settle your issues as soon as you can, it will save you the wrath of Erza and save us from worrying, you too Lucy. If Natsu ever did something bad to you, you can always tell me or Erza and we'll gladly whip his butt for you." Gray said while walking off next with Wendy who gave a smile.

"Really, you people just – " Before Charle could finish her rant, broken visions clouded her mind. _Waves crashing over a cliff, rain, Wendy and Lisanna shouting over the cliff, the guild mages dressed in black, Natsu crying over a tombstone with Gray and Erza holding him down to stop him from crashing his head to the cold and wet ground, Happy flying over to the tombstone settling a set of dark colored keys, on the tombstone read – Lucy Heartfilia._

"What the - !" Charle was brought back from her vision, cold sweat running down her face.

"Charle, what's wrong?" Happy asked Charle seeing that she looked distressed over something.

"No-nothing, lets go Happy"

"Aye"

With that, the two exceeds flew ahead and left Natsu and Lucy to themselves.

"Hey Lucy…"

"Natsu" Lucy cut Natsu off and turned to face him.

"I'm sorry"

"What for?" Natsu looked questioningly to Lucy. _Why is she apologizing to me? If someone has to apologize that would be me._

"Erza and Gray are right. We shouldn't be acting like this. I mean, we're just making them worry over us. I know it'll be awkward for us to treat each other back to normal but we have to at least try, right? I mean, we're still friends so…" Lucy trailed off. _Right, we're both friends. What happened between us is nothing. But I wish I could at least be honest say what I really feel for him. I'm just afraid he'll turn away from me if he knew._

"Don't worry Lucy, I get it. I'm sorry if I made you feel awkward. I'll understand if you'll get mad at me for what happened, we're still friends. Let's just forget whatever happened." Natsu said while sporting a slight blush on the cheeks. _I guess I can't tell her right now how I feel; she might just think that I'm kidding and start to avoid me._

That said, both turned their heels and walked forward to catch up with their friends. All awkwardness completely off after confronting each other.

* * *

A week passed and everything was back to normal. Both Natsu and Lucy started to feel more relaxed with each other and were able to enjoy each other's company unlike the week before. Erza and Gray were glad that the two finally settled whatever issue they had with each other. Charle was the only one who looked bothered for some reason. The vision she saw a week ago just kept recurring in her head and these past days, those visions became more frequent to occur.

_Why do I keep seeing that? Will it be happening soon? Is that why it keeps haunting me more frequently than before? I have to tell someone but what good would it do?_ Charle kept thinking it over until Wendy noticed her and asked her what was wrong.

"Charle, are you alright?"

"Yes, don't worry Wendy I was just thinking," Charle said to Wendy. She then looked over Lucy who was sitting next to Erza on the bar.

"Hey Lucy, I just wanted to apologize about last time. I was just worried that you had an argument with Natsu so I opted to ask you, though I went overboard. I'm sorry, if you wish to hit me then do it as hard as you can," Erza said while shaking her fist in the air.

"He he he That's okay Erza, I don't want to hit you. Besides, I did make you worry so I was also wrong with you guys," Lucy said with a sweatdrop on her head. _ I don't think I would want to hit you even if you told me_.

Just then Lucy felt like she was going to hurl so she excused herself and rushed outside to empty her stomach's contents. Mira then came towards Erza from the bar.

"Where's Lucy going?," Mira asked Erza.

"Outside. She said she didn't feel well." Erza then continued to eat her strawberry shortcake while Mira was looking to the direction Lucy ran to with a thoughtful look on her face.

"What's wrong Mira?" Erza asked.

"I was just wondering if Lucy is alright. You know recently she just seems so sick to me. This is the third time this week that she's kept vomiting for no reason at all. It's just strange." Mira said while looking more confused.

"Well maybe it's because of what she's been eating recently," Erza added.

"What do you mean?" Mira then asked.

"You see, I can't help but notice that Lucy has the strangest appetite. Last time, she wanted to eat pickled plums with vanilla and liver and when we had dinner during our last mission, she was happily munching on roasted flying fish that even Happy wouldn't eat. After that, she keeps on craving for spiced strawberries," Erza explained to Mira.

"Hmmm…that is strange." Mira said. Lucy walked in after puking and saw Natsu talking over with Lisanna in the corner of the guild. _Looks like they're talking about something private. So Natsu, you still like Lisanna after all, then why did you even sleep with me?! Prick. Wait am I jealous? I shouldn't be thinking like this._ She then turned her head away and went back to sitting beside Erza on the bar.

"Lucy, you look sick, maybe you should go see a doctor or at least ask Wendy for help," Mira said while giving Lucy a worried look.

"She's right Lucy, you should always take care of yourself, I told you before that eating those flying fish and whatever bizarre food you take will make you sick," Erza scolded.

"Don't worry, I intend to ask Wendy for help later. I'm sorry for making you worry again." Lucy said.

Lucy then put her head down on the bar looking over Natsu and Lisanna having a chat and sharing some laughs. _Why does it hurt when I look at them being happy? Shouldn't I be happy too? They are my friends and I should support them for what they do, but why does it hurt?_

* * *

In Lucy's apartment, Wendy and Charle came over after Lucy asked Wendy to check up on her.

"Sorry if I had to call you over Wendy, you and Charle can sleep here for the night and I'll make you dinner in exchanger for this favor." Lucy said while Wendy roamed her hands over Lucy's body who was sitting in her bed.

"It's alright Lucy-san, after all I am worried that you might have gotten a serious illness or something."

"Thank you, Wendy." Lucy smiled to Wendy.

_Strange, I can feel two different energies from Lucy-san's body. I know Grandine told me something about this, does this mean she's being possessed? But she's the same Lucy-san I know of, and the separate energy is too weak to possess, it's as small as an infant's life force – wait! Don't tell me – _

Wendy suddenly stopped her hands and was nervous to tell Lucy something that she discovered.

"Huh? Wendy are you alright? Why did you stop?"

"L-lucy-san, c-can I ask you something?" Wendy nervously asked.

"What's wrong Wendy" Charle asked seeing that Wendy is blushing while shaking.

"What is it Wendy?" Lucy asked feeling a bit scared of what Wendy might have found out.

"Um you see, when was the last time you had your um period?" Wendy blushed beat red after asking.

"Um now that you mention it, I guess I'm a few weeks delayed already – wait Wendy don't tell me…" Lucy suddenly became pale. Charle easily caught up after Wendy asked her question.

"Wendy are you saying she's – " Charle said with a surprised look.

"Lucy-san you're pregnant," Wendy said while holding a blush.

"WHAT?!" Lucy and Charle shouted at the same time.

* * *

**Author's notes:** done. Please wait for the next chapter though I apologize if somehow it'll take a bit longer because my work starts this Monday. But I'll try to wrap up at least 2 or 3 chapters by this weekend if our computer will cooperate with me. It's been undergoing maintenance the past few days so it took long for me to update. Rate and Review so I can work up on building a wonderful story.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters only Hiro Mashima does.

* * *

**Chapter Three: Eavesdrop**

"Lucy-san you're pregnant"

"WHAT?!" Charle and Lucy both shouted.

_This can't be! How am I going to tell them who the father is?! Heck how am I going to tell Natsu?!_ Lucy thought. Wendy and Charle just looked at Lucy waiting for her next reaction. Looking at her face, you can clearly see that she is panicking and afraid of something that the two can't place. To break the awkward silence, Charle spoke up.

"Lucy, um congratulations," Charle said _Though I don't think it's what she wants to hear from us right now, who could the father be? We don't know anyone who could possibly be his boyfriend, though Gray is a candidate and there's also Loke and Natsu, but I highly doubt Natsu would be the father since he's an idiot on these sorts of things._ Charle added as a thought.

"umm Lucy-san congratulations you're probably very happy right now that –

"NO! this can't happen! I'm not happy, not happy at all, what will I do? What will I do? How can I tell him? No one should know, what would they think of me then?" Lucy continued to panic not caring that Charle and Lucy are both in her apartment hearing everything she's saying.

"Lucy calm down, just relax and tell us what's wrong?" Charle spoke again trying to calm Lucy down. Wendy then approached Lucy and with a comforting hand placed on her shoulder, she sent a wave of calming light to soothe her nerves.

"That should make you feel better Lucy-san, now tell us what's wrong? Why aren't you happy with this news?" Wendy asked. After receiving the calming aura from Wendy, Lucy started to calm down.

"Thank you Wendy. Sorry if I lost my head for a moment there. If it was a different situation I'd be happy that I'm pregnant right now but it's not. If I tell you this will you promise not to tell anyone?" Lucy asked from both Wendy and Charle. The two nodded and Lucy continued to tell her tale.

"A few weeks ago after the victory party, something happened between me and a fellow mage in Fairy Tail. He followed me here in my apartment but I didn't notice until I went out of the bath and went to bed. He was already sleeping on my bed and I told him to get out but he insisted to stay because he said he was comfortable here and because we were drunk we just lost ourselves after he made the first move, things just got out of hand I guess," Lucy finished with her explanation and she continued, "back then, I thought that maybe he had feelings for me just as I had feelings for him to, and I just realized that after giving some thought on what we were talking about back at the guild during that night, but I guess I was just hoping too much. Now this happens, how will I be able to tell it to him and what would the guild think of me then?" Lucy's eyes were already starting to water; tears were running down her face while she kept her face hidden behind her bangs. Her hands were tightly fisted on her dress while her tears hit the back of her palms. Wendy and Charle can't help but feel sorry for what she must be feeling by now then Wendy was suddenly alarmed at what Lucy just said earlier. _after giving some thought on what we were talking about back at the guild during that night – wait! Does she mean- ?_

"Um Lucy-san are you telling us that the father is _Natsu-san_?" Wendy asked. Charle then looked at Wendy with a disbelieving look on her face.

"Don't be ridiculous Wendy, Natsu is too dense on these things, I would rather suspect Gray or Loke to be the father –

"It's Natsu," Lucy cut Charle off which made both Charle and Wendy's jaws drop to the floor. Lucy then started to cry more after seeing their reactions thinking that maybe by now they think of how stupid she must be to do a one night stand with her best friend who doesn't even know how to feel intimate love let alone use it in a sentence.

"This is unbelievable. Who would've thought Natsu would be the father of Lucy's baby," Charle said.

"Babies," Wendy corrected Charle.

"What did you say?" both Lucy and Charle asked Wendy.

"Um you see… Lucy-san you're pregnant with twins," Wendy explained to both of them.

Lucy's face was ashen after Wendy's statement. _I can't believe this; I'm pregnant with Natsu's children. I don't even know how to explain one child but now it had to be two. How will he react? Will he even accept them? I don't know what to do now._ Wendy then looked lost. She wanted to comfort Lucy but she's afraid that anymore from her would probably stop Lucy's heart from beating. Good thing Charle was with her and made pep talk with Lucy to ease her a bit.

"Lucy, don't be so hard on yourself. Let's sort things one at a time. Do you like Natsu?" Wendy asked Lucy.

"Yes" Lucy answered.

"Does he look like you?"

"No"

"How did you know? Did you ask him?"

"No, I just think so."

"What made you think that?"

"Well, you know how he is with Lisanna, right? And lately I've noticed that they seem to hang around a lot."

"Lucy listen, if you won't tell him how you feel towards him he wouldn't know and if you don't ask him how he feels towards you, you wouldn't know too. Basically, unless you tell each other how you feel, you'll both be clueless. You can say that you both were under the influence of the alcohol but now that you're pregnant, you have to think about the future of your children. You can't continue to hide that forever and Natsu has the right to know since he's the father."

"But what if he rejects them, even if I tell him I love him and he tells me that he loves Lisanna or any other girl for that matter then we wouldn't be able to raise the children properly. I want my children to grow with loving parents on their side, just like what my Mom and Dad did to raise me. Five years after I raise them, how will I tell them that I gave birth to them because of an accident? That their parents were drunk when they did it? That their father loves another woman and not their mother and that I just gave birth to them because I had to?" Lucy was nearly shouting now, her tears were still running down her cheeks and her fists clenched even tighter on her dress.

"That's why you need to confront Natsu and tell him. What you're doing wrong here is that you're assuming things, which is not good for you. You have to know first how Natsu feels, by how he treats I can tell that he's being more than just a friend, and her bond with Lisanna will never change but that is only because they treat each other like a real brother and sister. Loving someone is really hard especially when you think that you have no chance at all, but think about it. On the night that that happened, you thought that maybe he did have feelings for you too, because you believed in him, because you never thought of the 'what ifs' back then. That's what you should also do now. Just believe in him. Believe in Natsu. Love is about trust and believing, remember that," Charle said to Lucy sounding like a mother.

_Just like what Mom would probably say to me. Silly me, had to be lectured by a talking cat before I realize_, Lucy thought to herself. She then started to smile and slowly wipe away her tears.

"Thank you Charle, you're right, I should confront Natsu first before I jump into conclusions. He has to know, he's the father after all. Maybe I'll tell him tomorrow." Lucy said with resolute eyes.

"That's the spirit Lucy-san, we'll be cheering you on" Wendy cheered giving Lucy a bright smile that helped warm Lucy a bit.

"Don't worry we'll be keeping your secret until you decide to tell it yourself. You can count on us if anything goes wrong," Charle offered to Lucy giving her one of her rare smiles.

"Thank you," Lucy felt a bit more relieved now that she had it all out in the open. _I just hope that I won't regret what I will do_ she thought for a moment.

* * *

The next day.

Lucy was anxious to be in the guild. First thing she did after arriving was to go straight to Wendy and Charle and told them that she wants to back out already but after another round of pep talk from Charle she was now walking outside the guild looking for Natsu after asking Happy who told her that he saw him with Lisanna earlier headed to the barn house but not after teasing Lucy and rolling his tongue to her saying _"You lllliiikkkkkkkeeee him"_

_That Happy, if I were in a lighter situation I would've smacked him in the head already. Now where are those two? Happy said they went to the barn house_. Lucy then heard voices coming from inside the barn house but she barely understood what they were saying because of how hushed they were talking with each other. She then went a bit closer.

"Wow Natsu it's beautiful!" Lisanna said with glee while looking at Natsu's hand.

"I know, I had a hard time looking for it though, " Natsu said while holding what looked like a precious gold ring with a red ruby crafted intricately shaped like a heart.

_Wait is Natsu proposing to Lisanna?_ Lucy thought. She refused to believe it for a moment thinking that maybe, just maybe she still had a chance and that she's just jumping to conclusions again like what Charle said last night. _Calm down Lucy, you haven't heard everything yet. I'm assuming again that's all, I just have to listen more._ She mentally convinced herself and continued to eavesdrop on them.

"It's really beautiful Natsu"

"Not as beautiful as the girl that I am going to give it to. Here put it on," Natsu then took Lisanna's hand and placed the ring on her ring finger. It fit perfectly to her finger. Lucy couldn't take it anymore, she ran while suppressing the tears flowing from her eyes. She went back to her apartment and cried her eyes out on her bed after locking her door shut and closing her windows and curtains.

* * *

Back at the barn house.

Natsu suddenly looked from where Lucy stood earlier. He couldn't explain it but he felt like someone was watching them from there before.

"Natsu, something wrong?" Lisanna asked Natsu.

"Nothing. I just thought I saw someone earlier." Natsu said.

"Well here you go," Lisanna handed the ring back to Natsu, "you better think of a good proposal to Lucy before you give to her," Lisanna teased to Natsu. Natsu had asked her help for a couple of days now. He had already decided that after what happened between him and Lucy that he wanted to be with her forever and the best way to do that is that he has to marry her. But of course, he wanted to know first if Lucy loved him too. For him, her behavior towards him during that night was enough sign that Lucy felt the same way too but after the following days where she looked guilty and became awkward towards him, he thought otherwise. So he asked Lisanna to help him propose to Lucy in a way that will make her say yes.

"Listen up Natsu," Lisanna interrupted Natsu's thoughts, "You need to tell her first that you really love her and that what happened _that_ night is not an accident, it's what you really feel for her, if she does love you, and I know she does, she would've felt that from that act, the way she acted afterwards was just normal since she is still trying to come in to grips on her feelings. That's where you have to work up on, you need to make her realize that she loves you too and that you are being completely honest that you love her very much. You need to make her feel like she is the most special woman in your life. Then when she becomes completely honest with her feelings, that's when you kneel in front of her with one knee on the ground and show her the ring. Our fingers match size so I know it will fit hers," Lisanna said to Natsu.

"Thanks Lisanna, but do I really have to _kneel_?"

"Of course! That's being romantic, which you rarely possess by the way," Lisanna retorted.

"Hey! I can be romantic if I wanted to!" Natsu screamed. Offended by what Lisanna told him.

"Fine, just don't forget what I said, be romantic," Lisanna further teased Natsu.

"Whatever, I'm off and thanks again for your help Lisanna." With that, Natsu ran off back to the guild to look for Lucy and have a talk with her.

_Do your best Natsu_. Lisanna thought while walking back to the guild as well.

* * *

In the guild.

Wendy and Charle were sitting in the bar together with Erza, Levy and Mira. They wanted to talk with Lucy and find out if she already told Natsu, but since Natsu just asked them earlier where Lucy was meant that the two haven't spoken yet.

"Hey Charle, you think Lucy-san backed out?" Wendy silently asked Charle.

"Maybe. Let's just go check up on her lat –

Suddenly, flashes of Charle's visions occurred on her. _Not again! The cliff, rain, the black keys and the tombstone with Lucy's name on it. Does this mean she's going to die?_

"Charle are you okay?" Wendy asked Charle who suddenly stopped from her statement.

"I-I'm fine. Let's just ask Lucy when she comes back here about what happened."

"Okay then."

Wendy then started talking to Levy about the book that Levy found about dragons. Charle, on the other hand, couldn't get her mind off that image. _Why won't it leave me alone? What does it all mean?_

* * *

**A/N:** Phew! Glad to be hyped up on working with this chapter. I want it to progress immediately since many of you are starting to like it already. Thank you to those who follows this story I really appreciate it since it's my first one. Please send me reviews so I would know what else I need to work up on and if you have suggestions. Thanks!


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Goodbyes and Revelations**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters.

**Author's Notes: **I'm sorry if it took too long for me to update. Like I said before, I have work on the weekdays so I only find time to update this story during weekends since it's my day-off. Also, our PC has been very uncooperative lately but I'll try to finish as many of the chapters as I can. Enjoy reading

* * *

_It's over. I really am stupid to believe that he had feelings for me. That thing before was just an accident, nothing more._ Lucy kept repeating this to herself over and over again. She had locked her apartment and closed all the windows so that no one would know she was there. Her room was pitch black and she just sat on her bed while hugging her knees to her chest.

_Now I can't let him know about my pregnancy. I know it would only ruin his happiness with Lisanna. I need to get away, far away!_

With that thought in mind, she quickly packed her stuff. She wanted to leave Wendy and Charle a note but decided against it since the others might be able to find it first. As she exited her apartment, she notified her landlady that she will be gone for a few months and paid her rent for a full year in advance from the money she was able to save from the Daimatou Enbu.

She took a last glance at the apartment and started walking away. She decided to at least inform the Master that she'll be gone for a few months so that no one would come looking for her. She then started heading towards the guild.

* * *

**Back at the guild**

"Hello Lucy, where have you been?" Mira greeted Lucy while giving off a bright smile.

"Oh hi Mira, is the Master around? I want to speak with him about something," Lucy asked Mira who just finished cleaning off a cup.

"Master's in his study, you can go ahead and speak with him just make sure you knock before you enter so he would know someone's coming," Mira answered.

"Thanks Mira," Lucy said while heading towards the Master's study. Mira stopped Lucy for a moment after remembering something.

"Lucy that reminds me, Natsu and the others were looking for you earlier, they said you were going to do a job together, they might have gone to your apartment to pick you up," Mira said in thought.

"That's alright Mira, I was planning to go to someplace else and take care of some things, I might be gone for a couple of months," Lucy mentioned to Mira.

"Is that so? Well I'm not going to pry but I hope all goes well for you. We'll all miss you so be quick alright?" Mira said.

"Aww of course Mira, thank you," Lucy said giving off a forced smile. She didn't want to lie to Mira since she's been a help to her in the past but telling her about her pregnancy won't do her any good because she might force her to stay instead. _I can't stay; I'll give birth first then return afterwards. I intend to keep this a secret for Natsu and Lisanna's sake._

Lucy approached the Master's door and knocked before she heard a soft voice saying _"enter."_ She quietly entered and greeted the Master who was sitting on his desk.

"Hi Master, I just wanted to tell you that I'll be out of town for a while. I need to take care of some things so I'll be gone or a few months but I'll be back, promise," Lucy said while holding her front so the Master won't be able to know that she's hiding something from him.

The Master gave Lucy a look before sighing and nodding his head in approval. "If you really need to, then you may leave but be careful and make sure that you come back safely Lucy."

"Don't worry Master, I won't forget my promise, I'll come back safe and sound," Lucy beamed a smile after saying that and waved goodbye at the Master who gave her a parting smile.

Lucy opened the door and walked outside. She waved goodbye to Mira and everyone else in the guild that was there at the time. Afterwards, she went out and took a stroll around Magnolia since her train won't be leaving until 5pm.

"Let's see, it's only noon so I still have e few more hours until my train leaves, might as well take a last look around since I'll be away for a few months." With that, Lucy took off. She went first to the bookstore where she usually buys her books, she remembered seeing Levy there. Back then, she didn't know that it was the same store Levy buys her books. Ever since then, they went together there to buy books and even made it a habit to go there on weekends. She also visited the bakeshop where Erza buys her cakes. One time, Erza asked her to go with her because she had to pick up the cake she ordered. Way back, she just thought that Erza was exaggerating when she told her that she needed help carrying them only to find out that Erza ordered for twenty dozens. Erza gave her half a dozen for helping her carry them. Lucy laughed a bit at the memory thinking how Erza manages to stay in good shape despite eating a lot of cake. She also visited the cathedral, the old guild building, the clothing store where she bought Gray clothes after he forgot where he stripped them. _He never did pay me back._ Lucy thought. She continued on her walk and decided to go to the cliff where it overlooks the ocean.

* * *

**Back at the guild**

"WE'RE BACK!" Natsu yelled.

"Aye!" Happy responded.

"Welcome back, how did the job go?" Mira asked the group.

"It went smoothly, the bandits who were mugging the people weren't that strong," Erza explained.

"I'm just glad it's over. By the way flame head, did you really have to be so loud. Any louder and my eardrums would have burst," Gray said directing the insult to Natsu.

"Huh? Did I hurt your dainty ears ice princess?" Natsu spat back to Gray.

"Try saying that again slanty-eyed torch mouth?!"

"You wanna have a go snowball?!"

The two then started bickering like they always do.

"Natsu-san, Gray-san please don't fight," Wendy said trying to calm the two down.

"Leave them be for a moment," Lisanna, who accompanied Team Natsu with their mission, said.

"She's right Wendy, there's no use in trying to pacify them," Charle said.

"By the way Mira, did you see Lucy? We didn't see her in her apartment earlier," Happy asked while hovering over to the bar.

"Oh yes, she went back her earlier to talk with the Master, she said she has to leave town for a while so she would be gone for a couple of months," Mira told Happy.

"WHAT?!" Everyone shouted at the same time.

"Why did she leave? Did she tell you where she was going?" Natsu immediately asked Mira.

"Well, she never mentioned where she was going. She just said that it was really important that she took care of some business," Mira answered.

"But a couple of months are a long period of time, what would she be doing in the months that she will be out of town?" Erza questioned.

"It has to be something big and important if she took off in a hurry. I just hope she doesn't get in trouble," Gray added.

Charle and Wendy then looked at each other. Both of them know a reason why Lucy would suddenly leave town, but in order for them to really know they had to talk to her.

"I'm going after her." With that Natsu ran out the door not hearing Erza or Mira's calls to him. Wendy and Charle soon followed after Natsu then Lisanna decided to go help search for Lucy. Erza and Gray stayed behind wishing to respect Lucy's decision.

"Natsu wait! I'm coming too!" Happy exclaimed and flew out to search for Lucy.

After setting out to look for Lucy, Natsu and the others split into groups to cover more ground. Happy and Lisanna went to check on Lucy's apartment to ask around; Wendy and Charle went to the train station to see if Lucy had already gone there while Natsu headed to the heart of town to try and sniff out Lucy from the crowd.

Lisanna and Happy asked Lucy's landlady if she knew where Lucy might be heading. Unfortunately, she was only told why Lucy would leave and didn't even give details as to where she could be headed, so the two asked her if they could enter Lucy's apartment to look out for clues. Meanwhile, Charle and Wendy already asked the people in the train station and said that there was a blonde woman who bought tickets earlier.

"Well it's good that the train she will be boarding is leaving at 5. It's only a quarter past 3 so she's probably still around town," Charle said.

"That's good news right Charle? I wonder why Lucy-san suddenly wanted to leave town," Wendy asked trying to figure out what was bothering Lucy that it made her decide to leave town.

"No clue, but we have to ask her that if we catch her here," Charle responded, "What's the matter Wendy?"

"The sky…"

"Looks like it's going to rain," Charle added. Somehow, she felt uneasy seeing the sky like that. _I've seen how the sky looks like when it rains but why does this one make me feel nervous for some reason?_

"I feel sadness coming from the sky…" Wendy said while looking at the sky.

* * *

On a cliff overlooking the ocean near the edge of Magnolia, Lucy sat. She fell asleep while thinking of so many things that made her want to stay in Magnolia. The cold breeze woke her up and her brown eyes instantly looked ahead expecting to meet the last rays of the sun as it set.

_Huh? Why is the sky so dark? Did I oversleep that it's already evening?_ Lucy stretched her arms and looked at her wrist watch. The time was 4:15pm. _Great, now I have to run to catch my train if I don't want to miss it. It looks like it's going to rain._ With that, she fixed up herself and decided to call on Virgo to carry her until she reached the station.

"Ok! Now I just need to open Virgo's gate and ask her to help me," Lucy said as she reached for Virgo's key. Before she could chant, she heard a voice from behind her that made her stop and become stiff.

"Found you."

_No way! That voice- _Lucy thought and spun around to face the owner of the voice.

Standing just a few feet from her was none other than Natsu. His face flushed from running around and small puffs of breath came out of his lips. His eyes were looking straight at Lucy.

"N-Natsu, it's just you. I thought it was someone else," Lucy said nervously while trying to put up a front.

"Why?" Natsu asked.

"What?" Lucy asked back not clearly understanding Natsu's question.

"Why did you decide to leave us Lucy? What's the matter? Don't you want to stay in Fairy Tail anymore? With us? With _me_?" Natsu asked Lucy while trying to hold back his emotions.

"There's nothing wrong Natsu, really, it's just that I have to take care of something. It's not like I'm going to leave you all forever. I'll just be gone for a few months then I'll be back before you know it. Look I've got to go, my train leaves at 5 –

"D'YOU REALLY THINK I'D BUY THAT?!" Natsu yelled at Lucy. Lucy was shocked. For the entire time that they were together in missions, never did she see Natsu this angry at her. Sure he yells all the time but not because he's mad at anyone except for the enemies that they fought. Natsu then approached Lucy while sternly looking at her. Lucy took a step back.

"Don't…don't come any closer," Lucy said. She was frightened at Natsu. She didn't want to discuss anything with Natsu now. For her, the only thing she has to do is to get away.

"Look Lucy, I'm sorry if I yelled at you but I'm just worried at you," Natsu said while walking towards Lucy, "Let's just talk things over in the guild with Erza and Gray-

"NO!" this time Lucy was the one yelling. Thunder was roaring up in the sky. Small drops of rain started to fall from the sky. "You don't get it do you Natsu?" Lucy spoke up while tears started to form from her eyes.

"Lucy, what's the matter? I don't get it," Natsu asked. He stopped advancing to Lucy since she just keeps on stepping back. He waited for Lucy to answer him.

"I'm doing this because I have to, I'm doing this because of you," Lucy said with a sad smile on her face while her tears fell from her eyes along with the rain that pelted their skin.

"Me? Are you saying that you're leaving because of _me_? Look, whatever I did to you I already know that I'm sorry for it – " his statement was cut short as he remembered about what had happened between them a few weeks ago.

"Lucy, if this is about us sleeping together then tell me, why didn't you just tell me that you were bothered by it? I thought you just didn't want to talk about that, I'm sorry if that made you feel bad, but do you really detest me that you'll decide to leave all of a sudden because of what happened? You can hate me if you want but please don't leave, if not for me then at least consider the rest of our friends" Natsu pleadingly said to Lucy. He wanted Lucy to say, he didn't want her to leave just because of him. _So much for me hoping that you'll love me back, I guess there's just no chance for us_.

"It's not entirely that, I don't hate you or anything Natsu, I'm leaving because I don't want to ruin your happiness." Lucy answered.

"What do you mean?" Natsu was confused. He was stopping Lucy from leaving because he'll be sad if she left but why does Lucy think that he'll be happy if she left?

"Natsu, I know about you and Lisanna, you proposed to her right?" Lucy said while hiding her eyes, that were still crying, behind her bangs. Natsu just kept silent. He was surprised that Lucy thinks he proposed to Lisanna. _So that time, I wasn't just hallucinating._

"I know about the ring, although I don't understand why you kept it a secret from everyone, it's not very romantic to propose inside a barn, you know" Lucy smiled a bit but that didn't stop her tears from falling.

"Lucy, you're wrong –

"No, Natsu, it's ok, I know how the two of you have felt for each other. I'm actually happy for both of you. I just don't want to ruin that happiness because of something that happened to me."

"What? I don't understand, did anything bad happen to you? Are you sick? Tell me." Natsu frantically asked Lucy, worried that something might have happened to the blonde that he didn't even know about.

"It's nothing really, but I have to leave so it won't hinder your happiness with Lisanna, I really need to go now." Lucy grabbed her luggage but Natsu stopped her and held her wrist firmly.

"No, Lucy you're not leaving. You're going to stay here, you've got everything messed up –

"Messed up? Now I'm messed up? You slept with me when we were drunk, you confuse me Natsu, I love you that's why I'm doing this. I love you and I don't want to ruin your happiness with someone else that you love because of what happened to me." Lucy bit back. She was getting so worked up and just wanted to leave. Natsu was surprised. After hearing those words from Lucy, he suddenly felt light-headed. _She loves me. Lucy loves me._

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck the ground where the two were standing. Both of them were taken aback and because of the slippery ground, Lucy lost her balance and fell back. Instead of falling to the hard ground, she fell off the cliff. She didn't notice that she was already at the edge of the cliff because she was too busy stepping away from Natsu.

Natsu lost his grip from Lucy because he was taken by surprise by the lightning. He saw Lucy slipping and falling from the cliff so he instantly launched forward to grab Lucy's right hand.

"Don't worry Luce, I got you, I'm not letting you go, not ever!" Natsu tried to pull Lucy up but her hand was too slippery from the rain and his grip on the edge was also not helping him.

"Natsu…" Lucy felt like crying some more, she could feel warmth coming from Natsu. _I really do love him. But I can't stay here. I don't want to be a nuisance. _

"Lucy, I promise you that I'll save you. We'll talk later because I have something to tell you." Natsu kept reassuring Lucy but his grip was not that firm and he was gradually slipping from his hold on the edge of the cliff.

_If only Happy was here, he could help carry Lucy back here._ Natsu thought. Just then he heard voices coming from the distance.

"Natsu-san! Lucy-san!"

_That voice… it's Wendy!_ Natsu immediately called back to the voice of Wendy and he saw two figures approaching them from the cliff. After meeting up at the town square, Charle couldn't help but be bothered about her vision and the gut feel she's been getting after looking up the dark clouds earlier. Happy and Lisanna went back to the guild to ask help from Erza and Gray in finding Lucy, so the three were left to look for them.

Once again, Natsu tried to pull Lucy up and Lucy was doing her best to help Natsu by holding on to his hand. Just as she was about to be hauled up the cliff, Natsu's hand slipped from the surface of the cliff and they both fell forward to the cliff. Charle immediately used Aera and flew to grab on to Natsu's collar and pull him up. The wind became more erratic and made it difficult for Charle to keep a steady hold on both of them.

"Natsu, Lucy hold on," Charle shouted. _It's too strong, I'm going to lose my grip on both of them and carrying them both is hard for me._ Charle thought.

"Lucy, just hold on!" Natsu kept his grip on Lucy while Lucy nodded her head and kept her grip on to Natsu.

"You're almost there. Natsu-san, Lucy-san just hold on a bit more." Wendy shouted over the cliff. She was hoping that Lisanna and Happy would be able to find them there and help them. Just then, they heard running footsteps coming their way and they saw Lisanna coming their way. Charle was nearing the edge of the cliff and was about to land the two but the wind blew again and it shook them all making Charle lose her grip on Natsu.

"Lucy!" Natsu shouted he also lost hold on Lucy at that moment. Charle regained herself and lunged towards Natsu to catch his collar.

"Natsu!" Lucy held out her hand but was cut short because she was falling faster to the ocean. Natsu reached out his hand to grab on to Lucy but missed just a few centimeters and Lucy fell straight to the ocean.

"LUCY!" Natsu screamed with his hand outstretched. He saw the waves eat Lucy as she fell to the ocean. Lisanna and Wendy looked down from the cliff edge where they stood shouting Lucy's name.

"I have to dive and save Lucy, I'll use my Animal Soul to save her," Lisanna said readying to jump down.

"Lisanna-san you can't! the waves are too strong, you'll just endanger yourself if you do that, think of how Mira-san and Elfman-san would feel if anything happened to you," Wendy said to Lisanna.

"Charle, we need to go down there! We have to save Lucy!" Natsu screamed while thrashing around.

"Calm down! I have to put you down first, the wind is too strong for me to carry you." Charle responded.

"But Lucy's down there! WE NEED TO SAVE HER!" Natsu kept shouting over and over again.

_Damn it! We can't do anything with these waves, I just hope that Lucy will be fine._ Charle thought to herself.

* * *

Lucy plunged straight to the ocean. The violent waves kept throwing her about which made it hard for her to swim to the surface or use her keys to ask help from her spirits. She was quickly losing air and her mind was getting hazy.

_Am I going to die? I can't die here. I want to save these babies, please anyone, please save their lives_. It was the last of Lucy's thoughts before she lost consciousness. As darkness closed in on her, the keys from her waist lit up and enveloped her in a warm golden light that acted like a cocoon for her. After that, the keys turned black in color and was taken away by the waves while Lucy drifted farther into the ocean letting the waves take her to someplace else.

* * *

**A/N:**End of chapter. I'll be later on working on the next chapters because my younger brother has to do homework using the PC but I'll update as soon as he finishes to make up for lost time. Any thoughts? Feedback would be appreciated. Thanks.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Regrets**

**Author's Notes: **Alright, weekend once more so I'll be able to work on this story again. I apologize if I wasn't able to follow up last couple of week because I was busy from work and our PC crashed so we had to get it fixed. I just hope that all throughout the weekend, it won't happen again. I received a couple of reactions about last chapter's events. I highly appreciated that there are people who like this story, so thank you guys. I'll do a lot better in the next chapters. Now on with the story!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters in Fairy Tail or even Fairy Tail itself.

* * *

It was a cloudy day in Magnolia. The people have all been busy fixing up and cleaning up the mess left over by the storm that hit them a couple of days ago. The damage wasn't really that bad, it's just that it left quite a mess due to the strong winds and heavy rain that it brought along. If you look up at the sky, you could almost see the sun trying to peep from behind the clouds, but somehow, it seems as though it refuses to show itself.

"Wendy!"

Wendy snapped out of her trance. She saw from a distance Happy flying towards her and Charle. She silently walked up to meet the Exceed halfway to apologize for delaying them.

"Wendy, are you okay?" Happy asked with a somber face. You can tell from his voice that he's worried and sad at the same time. Wendy gave him a curt nod and replied with an "I'm okay" to answer the question.

"Are you sure? You don't look okay." Happy asked.

"Of course she won't be okay. We're going to a memorial service, you think she'd be happy and excited like it was just a walk in the park?" Charle who was silently walking beside Wendy the entire time answered back to Happy.

"Charle," Wendy reprimanded Charle. The female cat just 'hmpf-ed' and walked ahead. Wendy knew that she was just having a hard time to accept things. All of them are. She apologized to Happy after seeing his face about to cry at that moment. They then walked on and caught up with Charle.

At the entrance of Magnolia's biggest church – the Cardia Cathedral, they saw both Alzack and Bisca who was carrying a sobbing Asuka. They greeted each other with a nod and went inside to meet up with the rest of the guild. Upon entering, they saw a lot of people dressed in black clothes. The cathedral was big enough to house the entire population of Magnolia and still leave space for a few more so it wasn't that surprising to see that the people inside barely occupied half of it. However, as Wendy and the others got closer to the front rows of seat, they could all feel the sorrow overflowing from everyone who gathered there. Alzack and Bisca nodded to Wendy and Charle before they separated from them and joined Reedus and Warren who were both sobbing at the time. Next to them were Max and Nab followed by Kinana who was comforting a crying Laki. On the left side, members of other guilds who wanted to give their condolences are seated together. Ichiya was crying his eyes out and kept on saying that "such a lovely parfum shouldn't have disappeared so soon from this earth." Hibiki, Ren and Eve all had grief on their faces for losing a comrade who once fought side by side with them against the Oracion Seis. Sherry was being comforted by Ren as she too mourned the loss of a beloved rival. Lyon, Chelia and Jura also attended the memorial. Other members of different guilds also attended to show that even if they didn't know the blonde mage personally, they too mourn the loss of a fellow wizard.

Looking back to their right, they saw the other members of the guild all silent to pay their respects. But no other than the ones seated in the front row were more depressed than anyone in this event. Happy settled near a regal and silent Gray, his face was devoid of any emotion but his eyes show all the regret and sadness that his face lacked to show. Wendy and Charle sat next to Erza who had red ayes that almost matched her scarlet hair. One look at her and you can already tell that she's been crying for far too long already that her tears had stopped flowing. There was only one person that the whole guild was closely watching over. In front and center of the cathedral, a meticulously drawn portrait of Lucy was surrounded by beautiful red roses. Her portrait that Reedus had drawn was the only thing left that they could mourn over after failing to retrieve Lucy's body from the ocean.

Standing in front of the portrait and looking blankly ahead was a pink haired dragon slayer who still couldn't believe of what had just happened in the past few days. Natsu had been completely silent for the past few days simply looking at Lucy's portrait that had a bright and warm smile along with her chocolate brown eyes that sparkled with life. Natsu couldn't help but feel more depressed looking at the portrait knowing that those would be the things that will be gon from this world. It pains him to look at her portrait but he feels the pain growing inside his heart whenever he attempts to look away because he misses her and that portrait is the only closest thing that would remind him of her.

Today was the last day of the service and they were all preparing to transfer Lucy's portrait to the courtyard where her gravestone has been made. For Natsu, time has stopped the moment he knew Lucy had died and those thoughts kept running through his head, playing back the past events that will haunt him forever.

* * *

_FLASHBACK_

_The winds grew stronger making the waves hit the edge of the cliff violently. Charle had put Natsu down beside Wendy and Lisanna. The moment Natsu touched the ground, he bolted towards the cliff's edge to jump in the water but was stopped by both Lisanna and Wendy._

"_LET GO! I HAVE TO SAVE LUCY! LET ME GO!" Natsu shouted over the howling wind while thrashing about and trying to wriggle his way out of the restraining hands of Lisanna and Wendy._

"_Natsu calm down! You can't just jump there, the waves will crush your body," Lisanna shouted trying to smack some sense to Natsu._

"_I can't let Lucy alone down there! I need to save her! SO LET! ME! GO!" Natsu continued thrashing about to try and shake off Lisanna and Wendy from him._

"_I'm going to try and look for her. Don't let that guy do anything stupid." Charle flew down after instructing Lisanna and Wendy. She was having a hard time because of the strong wind and huge waves._

I can't see Lucy. The waves are too big, there's no way someone would survive them. Why didn't I listen to my intuition?!

_Charle was mad at herself for trying to ignore all the signs she kept on seeing and now guilt is eating her for what happened. She flew back up to check up on the three people she left there and to tell them that she didn't find any trace of Lucy._

"_I TOLD YOU TO LET GO OF ME! I CAN'T LET ANYTHING BAD HAPPEN TO LUCY, SHE NEEDS HELP!" Natsu was still trying to claw out of the hands that kept him from jumping off the cliff to rescue Lucy._

"_Natsu-san calm down. You could get hurt if you do anything too rash," Wendy tried to reason out with Natsu once more. She kept her hands firmly clasped onto Natsu's left arm while Lisanna was tightly holding onto Natsu's right arm._

"_WE CAN'T JUST LEAVE HER THERE SHE MIGHT – _

"_Die." Charle supplied for Natsu. It put everyone there shocked at her bluntness with Natsu breaking the awkward silence._

"_She's not dead, she's alive and we need to save her," Nastu answered back to Charle._

"_No! Can't you see? No one can survive these waves. Even if she manages to swim, the waves will surely slam her to the rocks down below. If you jump down there then even you would die, is that what you want?!" Charle looked sternly at Natsu with a few tears of her own mixing with the raindrops that were falling down her cheeks._

"_NATSU!"_

_Everybody then looked at where the sound came from and saw Happy, along with Erza and Gray, running towards them. Lisanna and Wendy momentarily lost their grip and Natsu saw this as an opportunity to escape so he jerked his arms and ran to jump off the cliff. He was already freefalling in the air when he suddenly stopped in mid-air._

_Happy and Charle flew and caught Natsu before he fell to the ocean. They brought him back up and dropped him to the ground. He was about to have a go again when he was harshly pinned down by both Gray and Erza._

"_BASTARDS LET ME GO!" Natsu yelled at both of them and Erza smacked him hard on his head._

"_You shut up! What the hell is wrong with you that you suddenly wanted to jump off a cliff?!"_

"_You don't know anything, let me go Lucy needs me!"_

"_What the hell are you talking about?" Gray asked._

"_Lucy's down there. She needs our help. She needs MY help! Let go!" Natsu kept thrashing while shouting over and over again._

"_Lisanna, Wendy, what's he talking about?" Erza asked._

"_Natsu and Lucy fell down the cliff earlier. Charle was having a hard time carrying both Natsu and Lucy because of the wind so Lucy fell. We want to go look for her and see if she's okay but the waves are too strong," Lisanna answered._

"_Wait! Then you're saying Lucy's down there? We have to help her then," Gray said in alarm._

"_Morons that's what I've been trying to tell you from the start, now let me go already!" Natsu yelled._

"_We can't. These waves are too strong. None of us would make it if we went down there," Erza said in a stern tone but there was a hint of worry in her voice._

"_Are you trying to tell me that we abandon her? What kind of a friend are you Erza – _

_SLAP!_

_Natsu was cut short when Erza slapped him hard on the face. She had a few tears on her eyes already._

"_How dare you say that to me! Do you think I don't care? I'm also worried for her but do you think jumping off that cliff and being crushed by these waves would help? Right now, the logical thing would be to assume for the worst but that doesn't mean that I don't care for her."_

_Natsu clenched his fist and his jaw. He knows that these waves were dangerous and that Lucy would be probably be dead by now but he wants to think that she's still alive down there and waiting to be rescued. Hell, it'd be okay for him if she was hurt as long as she was alive._

_Natsu kept on thrashing and yelling for them to release their hold on him. He pleaded for them to let him go but they wouldn't budge. Everybody had their eyes downcast. Nobody said a word but Natsu. All of them felt helpless and guilt was building up on each and every one of them._

_END FLASHBACK_

* * *

"Natsu"

Gray had his hand on Natsu's shoulder. They were now outside of the cathedral and standing in front of a grave with Lucy's name etched on it. A small glass box is placed on the center where a spell is cast so that no one would be able to access it and steal whatever will be placed in it.

Natsu clenched his fist. He was angry at himself for not being able to fight back and for not being able to rescue Lucy. He was angry that Erza and the others stopped him from saving Lucy. He was angry that Lucy was able to say that she loved him but he never got the chance to tell her that he loved him back. Now there was no chance for him to tell Lucy all of that. He won't be able to see her smile when he tells her his feelings. He won't be able to know what it feels like to love again because his heart was already six feet under the moment Lucy died. All of a sudden, he slammed his head on the ground over and over again. The pavement was starting to break from his constant banging and his forehead was already starting to bleed. Gray and Erza bolted from where they stood and restrained Natsu. Natsu was crying hard while his forehead bled.

"I'm sorry Luce, I'm sorry, I love you," Natsu kept repeating those words over and over while he was being restrained by his two friends. Erza started to tear up as well and Gray grit his teeth to stop himself from crying despite the tears that already formed on his eyes. Wendy was also crying that time and Charle just kept her head down. Happy, who was sobbing, flew to open the glass case and placed a set of black keys that were once shining gold and silver. Happy closed the case as soon as he placed the keys inside and once again the sky started to darken and cried along with the mages who lost their brilliant ray of sun.

* * *

A brown haired man was walking along the shoreline just far off Lazuli Village. He had his onyx orbs filled with sadness while watching the sun set from where he stood.

"Count Richard, I apologize but it is almost supper. We have to return you to your estate now," an old man in a butler uniform informed the brown haired man and the man nodded in understanding.

"Alright Sebastian, let's go back."

As Richard was about to turn his back, he caught a glimpse of something just behind the rocks on the far left of the shore. Curious, he went to look closely at it. The butler called to his master and followed where he was going.

As they were getting nearer, Richard could already make out what he was looking at. He turned his back to Sebastian with a serious look on his face.

"Get some men here immediately," Richard told Sebastian and the butler did as he was told without question.

Richard then walked faster and started a bit of a run towards the rocks. At first he thought that he was just looking at a dead animal behind the rocks, but when he saw it clearly, he sent out Sebastian to get some of his men to help the person who owned the hand that he was currently looking at. As he got closer, he saw a blonde haired woman in tattered clothing lying unconscious behind the rocks. She had a couple of bruises and scratches all over her body.

"Hey are you alright?" Richard kneeled beside the woman and scooped her up. He tried to nudge her a little but got no response. He carried her and ran to where his carriage was. Along the way, he saw Sebastian with two of his men and carried the blonde woman he was carrying.

"My God, what happened to that young lady?" Sebastian asked.

"I don't know but she needs help. Let's go. We have to take her to the doctor." Richard replied.

He ordered his chauffeur to hurry up and take the fastest route to the village doctor. He cradled the head of the blonde woman so her head wouldn't be shaken too much just in case she has a concussion.

"Hold on, we're taking you to the doctor." Richard whispered to the blonde as the carriage was quickly treading its way back to the village.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Alright, chapter 5 done. I'll be wrapping up the next chapter and post it maybe today or tomorrow. I really am sorry if it's taking too long for me to update because it's getting busier at work. I think this chapter is a bit boring so I apologize for that again maybe because of someone who's stressing me at work (it's not my boss, okay? Hehe). I'll do better on the next chapters to come. Leave a comment if you have any. Thanks.


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER 6: CHANGES**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of the characters in Fairy Tail or Fairy Tail itself. I just own the supplemental characters that I used in this story (e.g. Richard, Sebastian). Enjoy reading.

* * *

Lazuli Village is a small peaceful village located westward from Onibus and almost near the outskirts of Clovertown. The name Lazuli village was given because they made a living out of selling precious lazuli diamonds and satin blue clothing that shimmer in the light like their lazuli diamonds. Because of this, the village is actually very prosperous and the way of living is easier despite of its actual size because everybody earns more than enough selling their village's lazuli resources and trading them with other valuable commodities. The Jureners are the wealthiest and most well-known family in the village because they stand as the leader of the entire village. Richard Jurener is the only heir to the family so when his parents died three years ago, he started governing the village at the age of 18. At first, he had a hard time doing everything by himself but thanks to Sebastian, his family's loyal butler, he was able to manage the village and their family's mining business which is the primary source of revenue for the village.

Richard Jurener, now 21 is able to do all the work that he has and is able to live up to the responsibilities that were placed unto him. The majestic and proud-looking mansion atop the hill is his residence which had a view of the entire village and the sea just near the village. There is also a wide garden filled with colorful bluebells. He is also well-loved by the villagers for being very kind and helpful to all of them, not to mention that a lot of the village women see him as _desirable_. He had wavy chocolate brown locks that compliment his fair smooth skin and onyx eyes. He is also tall and has a lean frame from taking jogs down the beach just before sunset.

Inside one of the guest rooms, a blonde woman rests peacefully. The village doctor finished up cleaning the gashes on her skin, applying balm on her bruises and putting up bandages to cover the wounds on her body. He also did a check-up on her to see if she could have suffered more and found out a few interesting things that he discussed with Richard earlier.

_FLASHBACK_

"_So how is she?" Richard asked the doctor._

"_Well, she's fine now so you don't have to worry that much. She probably got lost at sea and was somehow washed away here. She's lucky to get only minor scrapes and bruises from getting tossed around at sea and bumping into rocks and corals. My main concern for her though is her concussion which could result in memory loss and that she's pregnant," the doctor finished explaining._

"_Wait! She's actually pregnant? Is the baby alright?" Richard asked in concern._

"_Surprisingly yes, you must be thinking that after that ordeal she would probably be having a miscarriage by now but turns out that some kind of miracle or 'magic' as the case may be is at play here. You see, there's a mark on her right hand that could probably belong to a magician's guild. In any case, she's still lucky. It'll take her a few more days before she wakes up and then you can confirm if all our speculations are true." The doctor then took his things and left the room._

_END FLASHBACK_

It has been 3 days already and Richard has been taking care of the woman. He still tends to his duties to the village but whenever he has time, he personally looks after her instead of letting the maids do it. He couldn't understand it but somehow he feels drawn to this blonde woman.

_It's probably just because I feel sorry for her. It's not like she has anybody else around here that would take care of her._ Richard thought to himself.

A knock was heard on the door before Sebastian came in. he has been the family butler ever since Richard has been a little kid. Back then, he was around his thirties and now he is in his mid-fifties but is still able to do all his duties to his master.

"Excuse me sir, the doctor is here to check up on the young lady." He said.

"Alright, tell him to come over. I'll be in the library," Richard said and stood up the chair he was sitting in and left to go to the library.

* * *

**BACK AT MAGNOLIA**

It's been three days since Lucy's memorial service. The guild is back in operation and little by little, the guild members are returning to normal. The only people who are still affected by the situation are the members of Team Natsu.

Erza, for example, has been very protective as of late. She always checks up on each and everyone to see if they might be having problems on their own. Her concern was coming off as meddling for some of them because she even asks for very explicit personal information just to check if that person really is alright.

Gray wasn't any better. He suddenly became sensitive of people to try and figure out if something was wrong with them. He even went to the point of stalking them when he thinks there's a problem. At times, both he and Erza would be stalking the same person which was very creepy.

Wendy and Charle had been very gloomy. Wendy rarely smiles at all and Charle has been irritable and moody. Both still couldn't ride over the guilt that they feel and blame themselves for what happened just like Gray and Erza.

Happy, as ironic as it sounds, isn't happy anymore. He has been trying to cheer everyone in the team up but only end up in being scolded or yelled at by Charle by being very clingy and irritating. Wendy would always console him but that didn't make things better for him. He still tries to put effort into cheering up the team but sadness takes over him at times especially every night where he would sneak into Lucy's old apartment and cry on her bed saying how much he misses her.

Natsu is the most terrible one at handling his grief. He has totally changed from the Natsu that everybody knows. He's barely seen in the guild because he would always go on a job alone and after that he would leave for another one again. Everyday, he visits Lucy's grave or the cliff where she fell to try and search for her. The guild already conducted a search after the waves settled down but nobody found a trace of Lucy aside from her keys that were stuck between two rocks. The keys were all black and lost their luster. No magic could also be felt from them which made them think that Lucy was probably dead and was somewhere on the ocean floor. He refused to believe that was the case and kept on yelling for Loki to come out and explain things but he didn't came which further strengthened the conclusion that Lucy was dead. He has become quite silent and never even started a fight anymore or even challenged Erza or Gildarts, who came home a day after Lucy's memorial, to a fight.

One more thing is that Natsu still holds a grudge against the others who were there at that time for preventing him from saving Lucy. He thinks that they also had a part in Lucy's death so he goes on solo missions. No one can blame him for it so the others just gave him space and hoped that time will eventually heal his sadness.

Master and Mira were talking among each other at the bar.

"Master, do you think that Natsu and the others will be alright on their own?" Mira asked Master who was sitting atop the bar counter and deep in thought.

"Only time will tell. We can't really do anything about it since they all feel the same guilt for losing a friend." Master replied.

"But we all know it was an accident so they really shouldn't overthink it. Besides, it's not very healthy for them especially Natsu. They all changed because of it," said Mira.

"We can only let them be for now. If anything too bad happens, then we intervene. For now, let's just give them time to get over their guilt and sadness. Everybody is trying to cope up with the situation, but when it's someone really close to you, it's just too hard to move on that easily," said Master.

"I hope so master."

"By the way, how's Lisanna doing?" Master asked Mira.

"She's fine. She says she finds it hard to face Natsu now considering that he also partially blames her for what happened but she believes in Natsu and that he'll eventually come around," replied Mira.

They both then turned silent. Mira went to clean the bar back while Master closed his eyes and was deep in thought once more.

_Lucy, I hope that you're happy wherever you are right now._ Master thought to himself wishing that Lucy heard it from where she is right now.

* * *

**LAZULI VILLAGE**

There was a knock on the door and Richard said a 'come in' before Sebastian opened the door and came in along with the doctor.

"So how is she doing doctor?" Richard asked.

"She's doing better than yesterday. Her wounds and bruises are almost gone I'm guessing by next week all of them would be gone. I'm just concerned that she's still not waking up." The doctor answered.

"Why is that?" asked Richard.

"As I mentioned before, she is pregnant and it's not going to be very healthy for her to stay asleep all the time. She has to eat to be able to sustain the growing fetus inside her because if she doesn't, her body will deteriorate because the fetus will be feeding off her. Worst that could happen is that they will both die of malnutrition," explained the doctor.

"So what do you suggest we should do?" asked Richard.

"You can try to spoon feed her with herbal soup to supply her body with nutrients for the meantime until she wakes up. However, as I checked her pulse earlier I noticed that it was a bit different from that of a normal pregnant woman; she could be bearing twins which will be more dangerous for her because her body will deteriorate faster. She has to wake up this week and be given the proper food to support her health," the doctor finished explaining.

"I see. Thank you doctor, I will take note of all of that. Sebastian, please escort the doctor and tell the chauffeur to give him a ride home."

"Certainly, sir. This way doctor." Sebastian opened the door for the doctor and they both went out.

Richard then stood up from his chair and went out the library to go and check up on the blonde. He silently went inside and sat on the chair beside the bed. He looked at the blonde and saw her face deep in sleep. Her breathing was the only thing heard inside the room.

He looked her up and saw that some of the bandages were gone and her bruises have faded somewhat lighter that you can barely notice they were there. He brushed a stray bang from her face and marveled at how cute she looked while sleeping. He couldn't help but smile at her.

A gentle knock was again heard from the door and Richard said 'come in.' Sebastian went inside and closed the door behind him.

"The doctor is already on his way back to the village," said Sebastian.

"Is that so?"

And then there was another silence.

"Sir, if I may ask, why do you take care of the girl so much?" Sebastian asked his master.

"I don't know myself. I just think that she has no one else here to help her. Do you think that's wrong, Sebastian?" asked Richard.

"No, sir. You are doing the right thing. Ever since you were a child, you've always been so kind to others which is why the villagers love you." Sebastian answered.

"For a moment I actually thought that you were going to scold me for bringing in a complete stranger." Richard laughed a bit at his statement.

"If it were a different stranger then I would do that to protect you but seeing that this girl is in need of help, I simply can't tell you to turn your back on her."

Another silence filled the room and Sebastian excused himself then to prepare supper. Richard just stayed beside the bed watching her sleep.

* * *

_Where am I? Why is it so dark? What is this place?_

Darkness covered Lucy's vision. She was walking and calling out for someone but nobody answered. The ground suddenly began to shake beneath her and she sprinted forward. Looking back, she saw a wide crack following her so she ran faster but it caught up to her. A bolt of lightning landed in front of her and she stopped running then the ground beneath her opened and she fell. She screamed while falling and then a hand caught hers. She looked down and saw huge waves slamming to a group of rocks below. When she looked up, she saw a shadowed figure grab hold of her hand and she thought that she was saved. The shadowed figure was saying something inaudible to her and suddenly the hand let go of hers and she fell straight to the angry waves and her head hit the rocks.

She woke up screaming and full of sweat while panting heavily. She looked around and she saw a brown-haired man holding her shoulders and out of instinct she clawed him on the face which nicked his skin just below his right eye.

Richard fell asleep while watching over the blonde woman she saw down the beach. He stirred and rubbed sleep from his eyes.

_Looks like I fell asleep_. He thought

He looked at the sleeping blonde and saw that she was drenched in her sweat and breathing heavily. He instantly tried to wake her up.

"Miss, are you okay? Wake up." He said.

The blonde just kept on thrashing on her sleep so he decided to nudge both her shoulders.

"Wake up. It's just a nightmare."

The blonde opened her eyes screaming and fear was clearly etched in them.

"Are you okay? Don't worry miss it's just a nightmare." Richard reassured the blonde.

Suddenly, the blonde raised her right hand and clawed at him hitting his right eye. He momentarily let go of her and she scooted to the headboard holding the blanket over her. Sebastian came in the room at that moment. He rushed in after hearing a scream coming from the room.

"What happened? Sir, your eye –

"I'm fine Sebastian," he reassured the butler and turned his attention back to the blonde, "miss, it's alright, no one will hurt you, you're safe."

The blonde looked at the butler and the man in front of her. She then looked at where she is and then glared back to the brown-haired man. She was scared because she can't remember anything aside from the nightmare she just had. The man spoke again but didn't make a move to approach her.

"Look, it's fine. I won't hurt you. I promise."

The blonde seemed to believe in him now because she softened her eyes and stopped moving back to the headboard.

"Where am I?" the blonde asked.

"You're in my house here in Lazuli Village just near Clovertown. Do you remember anything before you got here? Your home or your family? Your name?" Richard asked her.

The blonde stopped to think for a moment. Richard and Sebastian waited for her response. The blonde suddenly looked up.

"I… I can't remember."

* * *

**Author's Notes: ** alright, hope you guys like this chapter. As promised, I've updated immediately since you guys are really asking for it. Whew! Well, for more updates just keep on following the story and I'll see if I can update after work on weekdays but I can't promise you that. Most probably updates will still be during the weekends since I'm off work. Again thank you for supporting this story. I'd like to name all of you but I guess I'll do that on my A/N on the final chapter. I'll populate the list first hahaha…


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER 7: CLEAN SLATE**

**Author's Notes:** Well, I'm happy about the feedbacks I'm getting from you guys which is why I'm motivated to update this despite the work schedule that I have. Anyway, I've just been transferred to the graveyard shift so I still have time to finish this chapter and then maybe I'll start doing the other chapters bit by bit and post the ones I'll be able to finish on the weekends. Just so you know I'm actually reading your reviews and I intend to reply on them through PM because I don't want to make chapter that would be more on author's notes and I know you guys would actually prefer to read the story anyway. Don't worry though because I'm taking note of all the followers of this story as well as those who put this on their favorites and I intend to thank you all on the last chapter so expect a loner A/N by then haha… Now on with the story.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters but I do own the supplemental characters I've added in this story.

* * *

"I… I can't remember."

Lucy started to say slowly. Richard and Sebastian just looked at each other. Of course, Richard already anticipated that this would happen when the blonde wakes up as what the doctor has already told him before. Still, he continued to ask the blonde and see if he can help her remember anything at all.

"Are you sure? Try to remember. What were you doing on the beach?" Richard queried. Lucy looked strangely at Richard.

"Beach? What beach?" she asked.

"There's a beach near the village. That's where I found you sprawled behind some rocks. Were you shipwrecked or something? Were you being chased?" Richard pressed on further.

"No, I don't know, I really can't remember," Lucy answered.

"You have to try to remember at least something so we can help you return home. Anything at all."

"I remember looking at the sea. I was sitting on a cliff ad then-

Lucy suddenly gasped and remembered her dream. She remembered falling, someone yelling at her, thunder, the rain, a hand holding hers and then letting her go to fall straight to the angry waves of the sea. She was starting to sweat profusely and her heart beat race a bit. Then Richard spoke again.

"You have a mark at the back of your right hand. Does that mean you're a mage from a guild?"

Lucy slowly looked at the back of her right hand and saw a pink emblem on it. It looked like some kind of bird and random images of a barn where two people were talking, a cliff, roaring thunder, a dark room with a dark figure straddling her on a bed, falling down the sea and being thrown about by the waves, the dark figure that let go of her hand to make her fall to her doom.

Lucy clutched her head screaming in pain. The images she saw were not making any sense to her. Instead, they were making her head hurt.

"St-stop it! It hurts! Make it stop!" Lucy screamed louder while clutching her head. Her eyes were starting to tear up from the immense pain she was going to.

"Miss, calm down. What's the matter? Sebastian, call the doctor immediately. Send our chauffeur to bring him back here fast!" with that said Sebastian immediately went out to do as he was told.

Meanwhile, Lucy was still in pain and decided to bang her head to the headboard to ebb the pain. Richard quickly took her in his arms and locked her arms in an embrace. Lucy kept on thrashing and screaming to make the pain stop and Richard did nothing but hold her firmly against his chest and whispered reassuring things to her to calm her down.

* * *

"LUCY!"

Natsu woke up abruptly. He fell asleep on the couch in their (his and Happy's) home after finishing the B rank job he took earlier. It was a request to defeat a group of rogue mages who were harassing merchants in Acalypha. The mages were part of a dark guild which made it difficult but he took it without consulting Erza or Gray about it first. Surprisingly enough, he finished the job with little damage which was very surprising for someone like him.

"What's the matter Natsu?" Happy asked after flying in from the window.

"Nothing. I just had a weird dream." Natsu replied to Happy. He couldn't tell Happy of the dream he just had of Lucy. He saw Lucy calling out to him from below the cliff and begging him to save her and take her home. She was also wounded and kept on crying while asking for someone to help her ease the pain from her body. Natsu shook his head to remove the image from his head. He stood up and started to walk outside.

"Natsu, where are you going?" Happy asked as Natsu walked past him and headed straight to the door.

"I'm going for a walk. Stay here." Natsu walked out and left Happy alone.

"Aye," Happy said a bit sad, "How long will everyone be like this?" He then looked out the window and looked at the twinkling stars. "Lucy, help everyone get better," Happy mumbled to the cool night air.

* * *

Natsu walked aimlessly around Magnolia. He wanted to get rid of the nightmare he just had. He started having these nightmares after the last day of the memorial. It haunted him whenever he tries to shut his eyes, which is why he rarely sleeps at all. Sleeping gives his nightmares a chance to haunt him, to make him weak, which he hates the most. Master already talked to him about looking after his health and he just shrugged at the old man's words.

_The least I need now is to look after myself. I'm fine as I am right now._ He silently thought to himself.

He suddenly stopped and looked around where his feet took him. Without realizing it, he was already in front of Lucy's old apartment. This was the one place that he always avoids going to because it brought him painful memories of what he lost. But for some reason, he wanted to go inside and check the room.

"Heck it's been a while since I went here, might as well have look inside." He jumped to the window and opened it effortlessly and gently landed on Lucy's bed. Instantly, his nose was bombarded with Lucy's scent. He felt nostalgic. Event though Lucy was long gone from them, her room still smells and looks the same but there were additional scents that he picked up which were familiar to him but he chose to set that thought aside. He went to look around her stuff and more memories of her flooded his mind. He wanted to cry, but he refused to do it. The door suddenly opened and Natsu looked at who might have gone in half expecting to see Lucy all alive and angry at him for barging in to her room uninvited.

Erza and Gray came in along with Wendy, Charle and Happy. All of them were surprised to see Natsu in the room standing beside Lucy's desk.

"Natsu? What are you doing here?" Gray asked.

"I should be asking that to you. What are _you_ doing here?" Natsu asked with anger on his voice.

"Hey are you –

Erza cut Gray off mid-sentence. She stepped up and spoke.

"We go here every once in a while to clean the place. We figured it's the least we could do for Lucy."

"What good would it do anyway? She's dead. She's dead because of all of you." Natsu spat back. He started to walk past them but Erza grabbed him by the arm to stop his progress.

"Get your hands off me Erza!" Natsu shouted.

"Not until you listen to us first." Erza said with determination.

Gray went to close the door and stood by it to block Natsu if ever he tried to barge past Erza.

"Natsu-san, Erza-san please don't fight." Wendy said trying to pacify the two mages.

"There's no point in us fighting amongst each other." Charle added.

"Aye. Natsu cool down a bit. We're friends right?" Happy said.

"No! friends help their friends not leave them to their death. Now let me leave already," Natsu tried to jerk Erza's hand off him but she only held on tighter.

"Natsu, listen. We didn't have a choice. It was too dangerous and we can't just let you risk your life like that," said Erza.

"We feel guilty by what happened, you think we wanted her to die? Nobody wished for that to happen," added Gray.

"Well that was what I thought too, but you sure fooled me. Look, I've had enough of your excuses –

"I'm sorry." Erza said while lowering her head.

Natsu was taken aback. Never did he expect Erza to apologize that easily to him.

"I know we disappointed you but you can't blame us. If we let you do what you wanted then, both of you would have already been dead by now and that would hurt our conscience more. Look at yourself. You think Lucy would be proud that you're wasting your life? You barely take care of yourself anymore. You think that would make her happy? Seeing you like this?" Erza lectured Natsu with her eyes starting to water.

Natsu bit his lip. Erza was right. He didn't have a choice. Lucy was gone, his only reason to continue living. For him, his life already ended the moment Lucy _died_.

"Why do you even care?! Lucy's dead. I won't see her anymore. I didn't even get the chance to say how much she loved me. Do you know much it hurts me to sleep? I get nightmares of her on that cliff. She wants me to help her, to stop the pain, to save her but I can't! Now she's gone forever. I can't do this anymore." Natsu broke down after his confession. His intention to leave was already forgotten.

Then there was silence. Wendy, Charle and Happy were already crying even before that confession. Their guilt increased tenfold. They were also there during the incident but there was really nothing left to do. It was Gray who spoke up and broke the silence.

"That's why we have friends. We help each other out. Right now, we may not be able to handle the situation just yet but if we help each other out then we can make it out of the guilt and misery that we feel. There's nothing we can do for what happened but we have control over what we will decide to do next." Gray finished his statement. Erza gave a warm smile and offered his hand to Natsu to reconcile.

"Lucy wouldn't be happy if we continued to bicker amongst ourselves and it will only make her feel responsible for it. Let's help each other out until we learn to get over this." Erza stated.

"Aye, we're a team so we should work as a team," Happy said.

"That's right," Wendy agreed and smiled after clearing the tears from her eyes.

"Well we can't let the strongest team in Fairy Tail to be beaten by depression, right?" Charle added.

Natsu looked around his friends. After releasing his frustrations at them he realized how stupid he had become to neglect them. _Guess I really am an idiot huh Luce?_ He thought to himself. He grabbed Erza's hand to accept their reconciliation and it seemed that his whole being had just become lighter. They all worked together to tidying up the apartment and spent the evening their. For once, Natsu wasn't plagued by any nightmares and was able to sleep peacefully for the first time.

* * *

"I'm sorry to call you out here at night, doc" Richard aopologized to the village doctor.

"It's all right. It's good that she finally woke up. I gave her a small amount of sedative. It will help calm her down, when she wakes up you have to avoid stressing her. She's pregnant so she's very fragile right now especially that she can't even remember anything." The doctor said and took his leave.

"Alright, thank you doctor." Richard replied. He then told Sebastian to escort him to his home and once again he was left alone with the blonde.

Lucy stirred from the bed and woke up immediately. She looked around the room again and relaxed when she remembered where she was. She turned her head to Richard and asked him.

"How long was I out? What happened?" Lucy asked.

"More or less an hour. You had a breakdown so we had to give you sedatives for the meantime. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have forced you to remember things that quickly. How do you feel now?" Richard asked and sat beside the bed.

"I feel weak," Lucy admitted.

"Let me just get you something to eat first. Is there anything in particular that you might like since you know…" Richard was uneasy. He wasn't sure if he should tell the blonde that she's pregnant because she might hurt herself again.

"…Huh? What is it?" Lucy wondered for a brief moment what he was talking about.

"Well, the doctor said you're pregnant so I was wondering what you might like to eat." Richard said waiting for Lucy to become surprised and have another fit.

Lucy just widened her eyes and just screamed 'WHAT?'. She didn't know how to react to that at all but since she was feeling really weak at the moment she just shrugged it off. Richard was surprised by her reaction.

"I thought it was something bad. Well, I'm surprised to know that I'm pregnant. It's weird because I actually feel happy about it even though I don't remember how I got knocked up." Lucy said while scratching her head.

Richard had a blush after catching Lucy's cute side and shook his head a little.

"Well, I'll go see what I can find. The doctor did say that you have to eat to remain healthy. Oh and you're actually having twins. That's what the doctor told us." Richard said and let the room.

"Now that was unexpected." Lucy said to herself.

He laughed a bit at himself after exiting the room. He didn't even know why he was doing this much for a blonde stranger. _I feel like I'm the husband here_. He blushed after that thought. He then remembered how Lucy looked when she was scratching her head earlier. She was cute when she did that.

"I need to stop thinking like that." And Richard continued to head straight to the kitchen and ask for a meal for the blonde.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** alright guys, feel free to express your thoughts about this chapter. You can also send any ideas you might want to share and we'll see if I can use that with the ideas I have in mind for this story or the next story I'll be making after this one. Wait for the next update okay?


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER 8:** **ACCEPTANCE**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters. I only own the supplemental characters added for this story.

* * *

_Timeskip 9 months_

Lucy was in the garden enjoying the soothing air outside. It has already been 5 months and she was able to recover her health now. Her tummy has already grown and she has gained weight which slightly unnerved her but knowing that it was for the best since she will be giving birth to two lovely children. Despite the fact that she still has no memories from her past, she is still able to fully accept her situation. The doctor regularly checked up on her to monitor her progress. He said that her memories will eventually return to her so she has to stop forcing it because it will endanger both her and the twins. She raised her right hand and looked at the back of it. The insignia that was once there was now gone. They had it removed because it kept giving her headaches whenever she sees it because of the random images that suddenly flood her mind while looking at it. Since she can't remember her name, they gave her the name Elise which was the name of Richard's late mother.

The wind blew softly behind her and she closed her eyes to breathe in the calming scent of the bluebells. She loved looking at them while they danced with the wind. It helped relax her mind. For her, this was the best place in the mansion because this is where she could think for herself.

"You look like your enjoying yourself."

A voice asked from behind her and she looked back to see Richard standing from the door of the balcony. She gave him a small smile and reclined to her seat and started rubbing her tummy. Richard stood beside her and watched her rub her tummy. He suddenly remembered the conversation he had with the doctor a few months ago.

_Flashback_

_The doctor just finished his check up on Lucy and he wanted to talk to Richard about something._

"_What's the problem doctor? Did you find something out?" asked Richard._

"_Well, it's not something serious. Her health is okay but the problem is her memories. It seems that she's subconsciously blocking her memories that's why she's having these headaches whenever she remembers something from her past," the doctor explained._

"_Why would she do that?" Richard asked._

"_Probably she had a bad experience and she doesn't want to remember it. For now, let's not force her to remember things. She will remember them but it has to come out naturally for her to recover completely."_

_End flashback_

"Richard? What's wrong?"

Richard was brought back from his thoughts and saw Elise looking up at him.

"Nothing. I just remembered something."

Richard then took a seat in front of her and they both looked ahead at the dancing bluebells. He looked at Elise and saw that she was relaxed and completely enjoying herself. Her hair was being blown gently by the soft wind from behind her. Her smile was brighter than the sun that bathed her in a beautiful light that made her looked like she was glowing. He couldn't help but feel heat rise to his cheeks while looking at her. Elise noticed him looking at her so she turned to face him and asked.

"What is it?" she asked.

"You're beautiful," was all Richard replied. Elise was shocked and blushed so hard from getting that comment from him and muttered 'Thanks.' Richard didn't really realize at first why Elise was thanking him but the moment he remembered his blush grew deeper and his eyes were wide open.

"I-I-I have to go. I just remembered I needed to check up on some paperwork," he stood up while trying to hide his growing blush, "I'll see you tonight at dinner." He went back inside and looked back at Elise who was also looking at him when he stood. He saw her face had a tint of red on it and saw her look away when she saw him looking back at him. He went to his study and sat at his desk.

_Why did I blurt that out? She probably thinks I'm teasing her now. I'm guessing I looked like an idiot back there._ He shook his head to clear his mind and engorged himself with his work in front of him. However, he still can't understand why he's being nervous around the blonde. _Could I be in love with her?_

* * *

**In Fairy Tail**

The guild has returned to their old building and was as noisy as ever. They had a lot of new members and more jobs came in almost every day. They were all very busy mages and the Master can't help but feel proud of how his _children_ had changed. He was also happy that the once gloomy and aloof members of Team Fairy Tail (formerly Team Natsu because Gray didn't like the idea of being a member of a team named after a stupid half-assed mage as he described it) are now back to their normal selves.

It's not that they completely forgot about Lucy. It's just that they have learned to continue living on and not wallow in the past. They still visit the grave and pay their respects though. After every mission, the whole team celebrates in Lucy's apartment. They have saved enough money to buy the apartment. They say that they prefer doing it there because it feels like Lucy is still with them and they want to share that moment with her.

Today, the whole team just finished another big mission and they're going over to Lucy's apartment to celebrate but right now, they are having a good time with the others at the guild because Gildarts just came back from his mission.

"GILDARTS! Fight me!" Natsu rushed to give Gildarts a flaming knuckle sandwich and just as he was about to sock him on the face, Gildarts raised his hand and backhanded Natsu who went flying across the room and outside the doors.

"Natsu down!" Happy chimed while Natsu's soul was escaping his body.

"That was fast," Wendy said with a sweat drop on her head.

"Well, he saw it coming," Charle added.

"Man, Natsu how many do you need to make a fool of yourself? D'you really think you'd be able to beat Gildarts you weak-assed flame thrower," Gray said to push Natsu's buttons.

And instantly, Natsu was up on Gray's face raising a fist to him.

"Try saying that again in my face princess snowflake," said Natsu.

"You wanna have a go lizard eyes?" baited Gray.

Suddenly Erza was in between them and smacked them both on the head leaving them unconscious on the floor.

"Don't fight here. Geez when will the two of you grow up?" Erza said and went to sit beside Wendy.

A dark aura suddenly filled the air and Master, Gildarts, Erza and Mira suddenly were on battle stance to face whoever the intruder is.

"So this is the very famous Fairy Tail that won the Daimatou Enbu, huh?" a woman with a long violet hair wearing a red jacket and black leather pants said. She was sitting on the bar just behind Wendy which shocked them. Wendy and Charle stood up and faced her. They kept a distance from her and Wendy was already in battle stance.

"Tsk tsk… you shouldn't raise your fists to a visitor little girl," the woman in red said with a raised finger.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Erza said while standing in front of the woman.

"So impolite. You weaklings are so barbaric, you know that?" she stood up and walked around a bit.

Everybody had their eyes on her to see what she would be doing next.

"Let's just take this one out already gramps," Natsu said while cracking his fists. He charged or the woman aiming a flaming fist on her direction.

"Natsu don't!" Master was too late with his warning because Natsu's fist almost connected with the woman's face but just as he was about to make a hit, his fist stopped.

"W-what's going on here?" Natsu had his fist in the air just in front of the woman's face. The woman was smirking as she looked at Natsu.

"What's wrong Natsu?" Mira asked.

"I-I can't move," Natsu tried to move but he couldn't. The woman snickered and faced Natsu fully.

"You should have just listened to your Master," the woman said. She then pointed her finger at Natsu and Natsu went flying across the room slamming really hard to the wall breaking it.

"What the hell just happened there?" Gray asked.

"Allow me to do an introduction," the woman faced all of them and raised her finger up. All of the chairs and tables from behind her went up the air. She then pointed it to the people who were in front of her and the objects went flying towards them at a rapid speed.

Everybody dodged to not get hurt by the onslaught of flying objects. The woman raised her finger again and spun it around. This time everything inside were suspended in the air and spinning around her. She floated up the air and went to the center of the room surrounded by random flying objects. She placed her arms on her hips and muttered 'scatter' before all the objects around her flew in every direction. Everybody tried to dodge but there were some who weren't that lucky.

"Stop this instance," Master stood to face the woman, "I don't know who you are but I will not forgive you for hurting my children."

"Relax old man, I haven't done anything severe yet anyway. I'm looking for Lucy Heartfilia, surrender her to me and no one else gets hurt."

Everyone was surprised after hearing that. It was Erza who spoke up to answer the woman.

"What do you want from her?"

"We need her and the zodiac keys she has, if you give her to me now then we'll spare you the dead bodies we'll be leaving behind in this guild in search for her."

"Where do you need her for?"

"None of your concern. Now hand her over or I'll start killing you all off one by one."

"You don't understand, Lucy's dead and even if she were alive none of us would give her to you without a fight," Erza said while requipping to her Robe of Remoteness.

"Dead? Aw man, here I thought my job would be a lot easier now," the woman said, "I guess I'll just have to have a bit of fun here."

"Bree that's enough," a girl wearing a black kimono said. She had pale skin and long black hair with a blood red camella on her right.

"Yuuna, you're late. I just started the party," Bree replied with mirth.

"Where the hell are these people coming from?" Gray asked.

"We're members of a dark guild," a man with short silver hair said. He was wearing a red long sleeved shirt with a black vest. His pants were black as well with black boots that had red accents on it.

"What's a dark guild doing here in Magnolia?" Mira asked ready to do a take over if anything was to happen.

"My name is Kendric, we came from Midnight Fang and we're sent here to collect Lucy Heartfilia along with her zodiac keys." The man said.

"But you see, these people say she's dead so what do we do now Kendric?" Bree asked innocently which disgusted them when they heard it.

"Then we'll just have to find out if it's true first," Kendric said and looked at Yuuna.

Yuuna got the message and looked at Wendy.

"Wound" Yuuna said while looking at Wendy.

Wendy suddenly was covered in various wounds and she stumbled forward. Charle, Happy and Levy went to Wendy. She was screaming in pain as she was covered in more wounds and blood.

"You bastards! Natsu, Gray and Gajeel all went forward to attack Yuuna but were thrown in the air as Bree intercepted them.

Gildarts, Erza and Mira went to help them but suddenly dropped down on their knees after hearing a soft melody. They looked at Kendric and saw him playing a flute.

"I-it's his flute. We have to stop him from playing it." Gildarts said while struggling to use his crash magic to the man. Yuuna saw this and muttered 'constrict' while looking at Gildarts. Instantly, Gildarts felt his chest tighten.

"I-I can't breath."

Gildarts fell down while clutching his chest.

"Gildarts!" Master called out. Due to Kendric's melody, nobody could move and Bree was having her time picking up a mage and throwing them about the room while feeling numb from the melody of Kendric's flute.

"Stop this already! Lucy is dead, it's the truth!" Charle screamed.

Kendric stopped playing. Both Bree and Yuuna stopped as well and everyone fought to catch their breaths and their energy.

"If what you're saying is true, then the keys have already scattered by now. Let's go, we have to report this to HQ." With that Kendric walked out followed by Yuuna. Bree walked out too but not without kicking Natsu in his gut first. Natsu coughed up blood and glared at the woman.

"You fairy butts are all pathetic, not even your master can stand up against us. Pity you hahahaha!"

She then left while laughing evilly and leaving a broken guild behind.

"You bastards, you won't get away with this unscathed," Natsu said while clenching his jaw and his fist.

"Why would they need Lucy? What are they after for?" Gray asked while holding his left arm.

"Whatever it is, we have to find out," Erza said. She was somewhat glad that Lucy was dead. At least she wouldn't be in trouble from those freaks.

"Everyone, help us!" Levy yelled. Everybody went to them and remembered about Wendy. She was still bleeding from the wounds that covered her body.

"At this rate, she'll lose blood easily. Elfman carry Wendy to the infirmary," Mira ordered. Lisanna and Kinana went forward to help her treat Wendy's wounds.

"Jet, go to Poluchka. Tell her we need her here now." Master said while surveying the damage.

Jet ran out and went to Poluchka's home. Gildarts approached Master Makarov and they both shared looks.

"Those guys are beasts, not even one of us could handle them." Gildarts said.

"I know. I have to talk with Yajima about this and ask about the Midnight Fang. For what I remember, they were a dark guild that was already abolished before because of the great power they had. Not even the dark guilds wanted them around." Master explained.

"So you're saying that they shouldn't be here at all?" Gildarts asked.

"Exactly." Master replied.

"Look at the damage those freaks left here. If only the Raijin tribe were around then we could have gotten more leverage." Gray admitted.

"I don't think so. We have Master and Gildarts here and yet we still were powerless against them." Erza said.

"I don't want to say this but I'm actually relieved that Lucy is dead so she won't have to deal with those bastards." Gray commented.

"I agree. Anyway where's Natsu?" Erza asked.

"He was here a moment ago." Gray said and he looked around to look for him.

"Gray! Erza!" Happy called out while flying towards the two.

"What's the matter?" Erza asked.

"Natsu went out! He suddenly ran out and I think he's going to go after them alone!" Happy finished.

"WHAT?!" both of them exclaimed. They ran out and looked for Natsu, praying that he hasn't caught up with them yet.

* * *

Natsu was running fast and had a hard glare fixated on his destination. He had a few bruises from being thrown about but he was focused on getting _there_ on time.

"I won't let you get away that easily you bastards!" Natsu said while running faster to his destination.

* * *

Elise was eating lunch with Richard when she suddenly felt her stomach hurt. She released her spoon and clutched her stomach. Richard saw this and stopped eating.

"What's wrong?" Richard asked.

"Nothing. I just – ahh!" Elise clutched her stomach harder and was now visibly in pain. Richard stood up immediately and approached her with concern on his face. Sebastian also went closer to check up on her.

"My water just broke." Elise simply said and Richard got the message. He sent Sebastian out to get the chauffeur ready and carried Elise hurriedly outside.

They got in the carriage and Richard told the chauffeur to drive quickly but carefully. He clutched Elise's hand while supporting her head on his shoulders. Elise gave a small smile and Richard returned that smile. He wiped the beading sweat from her forehead and assured her that everything will be all right.

"Don't worry. I'm here, it's okay, you're doing well." Richard whispered to Elise.

"Thank you," was what Elise replied while concentrating on her breathing.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** enjoy reading this chapter and leave comments if you have any. I'll try to finish the next chapter and post it by tonight or tomorrow. I'm sorry if it will be delayed for a bit but bear with me guys okay? Thanks.


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER 9: Convergence**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters but I do own the supplemental characters in this story.

* * *

"AAAAAHHHHHHH!"

"A little more! You can do it!" the doctor encouraged. Elise was already sweating hard and getting tired of pushing the first baby out of her body. She clenched her jaw as another contraction occurred and she gripped the nearest object she could find which was Richard's hand.

"Come on Elise, you can do it, breathe," muttered Richard. His hand was feeling numb from Elise's grip on him but he didn't mind as long as it helped her.

Another scream and Elise almost passed out from that contraction. The doctor saw the baby's head and encouraged her to give it another push. Richard kept on giving her encouragements and with a final hard push, the baby was out. The nurse quickly took the baby from the doctor after cutting the umbilical cord and the nurse proceeded to clean the baby from blood.

Elise and Richard heard the cries of the firstborn and Elise was instantly filled with happiness. It was short-lived though as another contraction occurred and the doctor went back to work on the second baby.

"Here comes the second one, just breathe and push," the doctor said seeing the top of the head of the second baby.

"You can do it, come on, just a one more," Richard said. Elise cracked one eye open at hi and gave a smile which Richard returned. A contraction occurred again and Elise screamed making the baby's head come out.

"The head is out, keep going," the doctor said while trying to support the baby's head. Elise breathed hard and with a hard push, the baby was out and crying as hard as the first one.

"You did great," Richard said while smiling at Elise. He squeezed her hand which was still holding onto him and Elise muttered a small 'thank you' despite being exhausted from giving birth.

"Congratulations on your new kids," the doctor said while bringing in the twins. They were now wrapped in warm blankets and clean from blood. The doctor handed out both to Elise and the babies started cooing.

Elise looked at both of them. The one on her right was a boy while the one on her left was a girl. They both had blonde hair and were fast asleep. Tears formed from her eyes and she hugged them both closer and kissed each one on their heads.

Richard saw how happy Elise was with her children and he just smiled at how picture perfect the scene was. Elise then looked at Richard and offered him to carry the other baby because it was tiring her arms out. He wasted no time and took the baby boy from his mother and awkwardly carried him not even sure if he was doing it right. Elise giggled a little while looking at Richard.

"What is it?" Richard asked a bit embarrassed at being laughed at.

"Nothing. It's just that you look so awkward holding the baby," Elise said while giggling some more.

"Richard blushed at this and said, "It is my first time doing this so I don't really know how to do it right."

"Don't worry you're doing fine. You actually fit the role of daddy from where I see it," she said.

"Thanks, you too. You completely fit the mother role perfectly," he said.

"The two of you actually make a great family," the doctor said. Both of them blushed and politely looked away at each other but stole glances once in a while.

"The boy came first followed by the girl, before we take them to the nursery what would you like to name your children?" the doctor asked.

Elise had already thought of names while spending time in the garden. She took a liking on two names if ever she had a boy and a girl.

"I'm naming the boy Kiryuu and the girl Kayla," she stated.

"Alright, got it. Now we'll just place them in the nursery so you could take your rest now." The doctor and the nurse took the twins and went to the nursery.

"Kiryuu and Kayla huh? Why those names?" Richard was eager to know.

"I don't know but somehow they ring a bell to me so I chose those names," Elise explained. She yawned and started to rub her eyes.

"You should rest now, I'll go back to the mansion to arrange the room you and the twins will be staying in," Richard said while leaning Elise onto the bed and tucking her in a bit.

Elise had blushed from being taken good care of by Richard. _He has been taking such good care of me for a long time now, I should at least say thank him for that_, she thought.

"Richard, Thank you for everything." She smiled and started to fell sleep overpower her so she leaned more to the bed and slept peacefully.

Richard smiled and patted her on the head while saying 'you're welcome.' He kissed her on the forehead and went out the room to arrange the room in the mansion.

* * *

"Did you find him?" Erza asked Happy and Gray.

They have been trying to find out where Natsu had run to thinking that he probably followed the dark guild mages that attacked them.

"This is bad. I think we should tell Master about it. If he managed to catch up to those monsters who knows what will happen to him," Happy said worried for his partner's safety.

"But Master and the others are also hurt from our encounter with them, not to mention they have to help those who were badly injured especially Wendy. Darn that idiot! He should've just stayed sprawled on the floor," Gray said with irritation.

Erza was silently thinking over what to do when she remembered something.

"I think I know where we could possibly find them. Follow me." Erza said and ran swiftly towards Cardia Cathedral.

"The Cathedral? Why would they go there?" Happy asked while tailing Erza.

"Those mages mentioned that they needed Lucy and her _keys_, remember?" Erza said.

"That's right! We left her keys on a glass case on her tombstone. But it's protected with strong magic; do you think they'll be able to break through it?" Gray asked Erza.

"I'm not sure, but that's the best hunch I have so far. Let's go!" Erza answered.

All of them ran forth hoping to intercept Natsu before he gets into big trouble.

* * *

The trio of dark mages was walking side by side when Kendric felt a presence and stopped his advance.

"What's the matter Kendric?" Bree asked with Yuuna looking back and staring at the direction they came from.

"Someone's coming," Yuuna answered.

Footsteps suddenly stopped and they all looked at who was the presence that followed them. The newcomer stopped and stood in front of them. Bree smirked at the newcomer.

"Well, well, well, look who came," Bree said.

"We didn't expect to see you so soon," Kendric said.

* * *

Natsu reached Lucy's grave huffing puffs of breath.

"I finally made it," he said while looking around him with a glare on his eyes.

* * *

"I finished early," the newcomer wearing a black trench coat and dark pants said. He had silver chains around his waist and his boots had silver accents on it. His brown hair was up to his shoulders and tied to a ponytail.

"So what did you find Logan?" Kendric asked.

"Nothing much, the place had no one living on it but it was well kept. I didn't see the keys or her there," Logan answered.

"Then I guess the fairies were telling the truth. If the owner died then that means to say that the keys have scattered elsewhere," Kendric said and proceeded to walk. Yuuna followed silently along with Logan.

"WHAT? So we're going to search every corner of the world just to look for those keys again? No way! That will take forever!" Bree yelled but no one listened to her and she kept nagging them throughout the trip back to HQ.

* * *

Erza, Gray and Happy arrived at Cardia Cathedral and saw Natsu sitting on guard in front of Lucy's grave. They all were relieved to see that the trio was not there and they approached Natsu.

"I thought you'd go here. Next time don't just run off like that," Erza said to Natsu.

"I can't help it. I had to see if they would try to steal Lucy's keys. I won't forgive myself if they managed to steal it let alone defile her grave with their dark magic," Natsu answered.

"But that was a stunt you pulled their idiot, we thought you sniffed them out and challenged them for a fight," gray added.

"Natsu don't scare us like that again," Happy said while flying straight to Natsu's arms, "I thought we'd lost you just like Lucy."

Erza and Gray were shocked to hear that from Happy. Honestly, they both felt the same way. It had been traumatic for them when someone runs off without a word because the lost time it happened, they lost a friend and they can't live through that again.

"I'm sorry Happy if I made you worried," Natsu replied while stroking Happy's back to stop him from crying.

"But this is dangerous. We have to tell master to move Lucy's grave along with her keys so they won't be able to find it. Eventually they'll return and when they do, we have to be ready for them." Erza said.

All of them nodded in agreement and Happy was sent to send the message back to the guild and the three were left to guard in case the trio appeared.

* * *

_Timeskip 5 years_

Team Fairy Tail was sent out to a special mission by Master Makarov. After the ordeal five years ago with Midnight Fang, the guild decided to take up precautionary measures. They moved Lucy's grave and placed more protective magic on it underneath the guild's hall. They also asked the help of their allied guilds to gather info on the dark guild that attacked them. So far the info gathered were just a few despite the hard work everyone has been exerting.

According to reports gathered over five years, Midnight Fang is a dark guild that once ruled over all the dark guilds. They had very powerful mages that were S-class or even beyond S-class because of the unique magic they possess. Because of their quick rise to power, all eyes were on them and when the magic council, along with the dark guilds and the allied guilds resisted them from gaining power to control everyone, Midnight Fang fell.

That is why it surprised everyone that there were some members who managed to hide for a long time despite them being hunted by the dark guilds. So far, intel tells them that they have four members only but were all equally matched against the Ten Wizard Saints.

The strongest one, Kendric, is the leader and possesses Melody Magic. He can use any instrument to inflict damage to his enemies and manipulate their minds into believing his illusions. Mostly, he uses the flute as it is the most versatile weapon he can use in a combat.

Yuuna has Infliction Magic. Unlike Meredy's Maguilty Sense, hers is much more powerful because it creates the damage she wants to inflict a person into a reality and not just simply feel it. She is the youngest among the four but quite deadly to combat with. No mage has ever been able to stand up against her or even get near her.

Bree is the loud one and has Telekinetic Magic. She is able to lift any object with her mind and rip a person to shreds without even touching them. She is very playful and loses her temper when irritated. The more she becomes violent, the more her magic damages a person. She is also a combat specialist.

Logan is the oldest one in the group. He has Weather Magic and an expert with daggers. His specialty is stealth moves using a thick coat of fog to blind his enemies and then impale them with his daggers. He usually keeps things to himself and not much info can be gathered from him.

For five years, no news have been heard from them and it bothers Master about it so when they received word that one of them was spotted near Clover Town, he instantly sent out a team to investigate. Team Fairy Tail were on their way there to meet up with the informer but stopped by a small village to get some resources first.

"I think I'm gonna die…" Natsu said while holding out from puking. The train ride almost killed him but luckily for him, the engine broke and they had to repair it. However, his torment continued when Erza took a wagon and told them to ride it so as not delay them.

"Natsu, hang in there." Happy said while patting his back.

"Pathetic as always," Gray said while looking out the wagon.

"Hang in there Natsu-san. I'm sorry if I can't use Troia on you now," Wendy apologized. She just used Troia on Natsu earlier but after using it for so long, Natsu's body has obtained a resistance to its effect.

"Well, it can't be helped since you've been relying on it for 3 years now," Charle said.

"We're here," Erza said.

Natsu suddenly was full of life when they arrived at the village and was laughing triumphantly at himself.

"Lazuli Village. It seems to be a very peaceful village right Charle?" Wendy asked beaming with a smile and sniffing the fresh air.

"Wish we had more time to stay here. It feels very refreshing to be here," Gray said while stretching out.

"Let's go and look for a place to stay for a while," Erza said and walked further into the small busy area.

They were all amazed at how prosperous the village was despite its size and were even more amazed that it was peaceful. They checked in at a small resthouse and decided to eat out. While walking, they heard a loud noise and looked at the commotion. They saw a horse that was out of control and running straight towards two blonde children.

"Watch Out!" Natsu ran forward and grabbed the two children away from the horse's path. Erza pacified the horse with Gray grabbing the reins. Erza stepped in front of the bucking horse and said, "I'll slice you and eat your meat if you don't calm down."

The horse got the message and just stood there scared or his hide.

Wendy ran to Natsu and checked if he was okay.

"Natsu-san, are you hurt?" Wendy asked.

"No, but can you check these two if they got hurt?"

The two children were holding onto Natsu tightly while their eyes were shut. They both were sniffing and when they opened their eyes they looked around them.

"Are those two all right?" Gray asked. He knelt down and took a look at the two.

They boy had spiky blonde hair and the girl had long silky blonde hair that reached just below her shoulders. They both had onyx eyes but the boy had slanted eyes similar to Natsu. Natsu stood up while carrying the two and set down gently. The girl instantly hid behind her brother's back while his brother stopped sniffing tried to act brave in front of them. Erza approached them and asked them.

"Are you all right? Are you lost?"

"We're fine," the little girl replied.

"Um thank you for saving us mister," the boy said, "We have to go now our mom will be worried."

"How about we take you to your mom? Is she here in town?" Gray asked.

"Kiryuu! Kayla!" a woman's voice called out.

"Mom!" both of them said together.

A blonde woman rushed forward and hugged the two children. She was wearing a red dress and a white hat that hid her face.

"Are you their mom?" Erza asked.

"Yes, did they cause you any trouble? I apologize if that is the case," the woman said.

"No mom, we were almost squished by a horse but that guy saved us," Kayla said while pointing towards Natsu.

"Eh? Well, it was nothing really hehe," Natsu sai while rubbing the back of his head, "Just be careful next time."

"Is that so? Well thank you for saving them. I'm guessing you are guests here? I'd like to invite you to have lunch with us at home. Take it as a thank you for saving my children. I'm sure my fiancée won't mind," the woman said.

"Free food!" Happy squealed.

"Manners!" Charle said at Happy.

"Well, if it really won't bother you then we gladly accept," Erza said.

The woman settled her children and told them to do their introductions.

"I'm Kiryuu, nice to meet you," the boy said.

"I'm Kayla, nice to meet you," the girl said.

The woman removed her hat to properly introduce herself. Everyone's eyes grew wide as they saw clearly who they were talking to. Happy and Charle gasped.

"I-impossible," Erza said with wide eyes.

"No way" Gray said not even believing what he sees.

"You're," Wendy muttered under her breath.

"I'm Elise, nice to meet you all," Elise said after removing her hat. A soft wind blew and everyone stood still for a moment.

"L-Lucy," was all Natsu said.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **send me comments if you have any. So sorry but I'll be updating next weekend. Please bear for a while, if I am able to grab some free time from work then I promise to work on this. What to look forward to for the next chapters? Hmm let's see, expect rivalries and drama that's all I can say. Enjoy this chapter. Anyway, sorry for the typo errors i'll try to fix them soon okay.


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER 10: Speculations**

**Author's Notes: **I just read the recent chapter and I actually found out that I made a lot of typographical errors. I am so sorry for that. You see, I was really tired while I was finishing that chapter because I just got home from work and I had been awake for 12 hours prior to typing it. Here's the continuation to the story and I hope you all like it.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters but I own the supplemental characters in this story.

* * *

_**Kiryuu's POV**_

Today is a really fun day. My sister and I are going out to the village together with my mom. Uncle Richard wanted to go with us but he had to do his errands for the village. It would've been better if he were with us because he's been a father to both my sister and I but we completely understand it though because he runs the entire village himself. Besides, it won't be long until he marries our mom since he already proposed to her five months ago and mom accepted of course. Mom explained everything to us as soon as we turned five; she thought that it would be best for us to know everything now than delaying it and encounter a problem because of it. My sister and I understood the situation and we completely accepted it, but of course we also had our own thoughts like 'what if someone who knows her shows up?' or 'what if our real father comes along?'

We never voiced that out but we both know that our mom has already thought of that scenario, we just can't tell what is on her mind. I've always wondered why that is because my sister and I can completely speak through our minds without anybody knowing. We tried telling mom and Uncle Richard about it but they just said that it was cute for us to think that way and laughed it off.

We arrived at the village via a carriage and my sister and I hurriedly got off to look at the place. There were lots of people today and we can smell a lot of food from where we were standing. Our mom had a hat on because the sun was too bright for her but neither my sister nor I were bothered by the heat. Mom went to a bookstore and the storekeeper instantly greeted her and ushered us inside.

This was completely boring. We love it when our mom reads books to us at night but to be stuck here in a bookstore when I could go and look at the stores outside is a total drag. So, I decided to sneak outside and made it safely without anybody noticing. I felt a tug on my back and saw my sister looking at me with a pout.

_What a nuisance_, I thought

_I can hear your thoughts nii-chan_

_Oops, forgot about that hehe sorry…_

_Where are you going? _ My sister asked.

_I just wanted to go check on the other stores_

_I'm going with you_

_No you can't_

_I'm telling mom_

_Alright already, don't you usually stick with mom when she goes to the bookstore?_

_Today's different. Anyway, are you going to the magic shop?_

_Yeah, I heard they have new deliveries today so I wanted to go check._

In the end, I have to sneak out together with my sister to the magic store. This is actually our favorite place in the village because we get to check out a lot of cool magic. Both Mom and Uncle think that magic is too dangerous so they forbade us to go there.

_Nii-chan!_

My sister screamed in my head and I looked at her in irritation. I followed her gaze and saw a horse running towards us. I think we're going to be squished by that monster so I hugged my sister and braced ourselves. Suddenly, I felt warm arms grab us and when I opened my eyes, I saw that a man saved us from the horse. His comrades came to check up on us and when he settled us down; my sister went behind me so I acted as the big brother and shielded her from them.

I thanked them for saving us but mom will surely be mad at us from running off like that. Suddenly, I heard our mom's voice so my sister and I both ran to her. She instantly hugged us and she also thanked the ones who saved us.

When she removed her hat though, the people who saved us looked surprise.

_Nii-chan, why do you think they look so surprised?_

_I don't know, but – hey what the- !_

The man that saved us just hugged my mom! Why'd he do that?

_**End POV**_

* * *

"LUCY!"

Natsu shouted and lunged forward to hug her tightly. Elise gasped as the pink-haired man suddenly caught her in a tight grip and was crying at her.

"We thought you were dead. I knew you were alive, I always knew. I'm so happy to finally see you, Luce," Natsu hugged her tighter and was crying. He was so happy that he can see and touch Lucy again.

Elise was shocked and was trying to free herself from Natsu's hug but to no avail. From out of nowhere, Natsu felt a hand grab one of his hands and twist it behind him then he was pushed forward. He quickly looked back and saw a brunette woman wearing a blue suit and had a long thin ponytail. She had her hand fix her glasses and the other one was holding a cane with a lapis lazuli orb at the top.

"Mathilda!" Elise said.

"Please refrain from doing that again to milady or else I'll have to cripple you," Mathilda warned while fixing her glasses once again and giving off a blank stare to Natsu.

"Why you –

Then Erza stepped in and placed her hand in front of Natsu. She then faced forward and bowed her head in apology.

"Please apologize us for our comrade's behavior. It's just that you look very similar to someone we know," Erza explained.

"Is that so? Well I completely understand. This doesn't change my decision to invite you over for lunch so please follow us," Elise said and took her children's hands and walked back.

Mathilda looked dangerously at Erza's party and gave a silent warning that if they did anything funny, she'll rip their entrails out. She followed Elise and gestured for them to follow as well.

"Listen up, no one does anything you hear me?" Erza said to the group.

"But Erza we finally found Lucy, let's take her back," Natsu said.

"Aye! This is our chance," Happy added.

"We can't. For some reason, she seems to not remember us and we have to know why. We're guests here so we have to act cautiously. Besides, that guard she has looks dangerous even though she's not a mage," said Erza.

"I get it, so you want us to spy on her while on their turf, right? Might as well play along," Gray said and trudged forth.

"Let's go," Erza followed suit and walked forth.

"I don't get what's happening here but if Lucy forgot about us then I'll make sure to remind her," Natsu said and followed Erza along.

"Aye sir," Happy agreed and flew but stopped when he noticed Wendy and Charle, "What's the matter Wendy? Charle?"

"N-nothing," Wendy said and Happy flew next to Natsu.

"Charle, that's Lucy-san, right?" Wendy asked Charle who still couldn't believe her eyes.

"Positive. There's no mistaking it. What bothers me is that she couldn't remember a thing and how she even survived and how she even ended up here in the first place. Let's go," Charle said and flew o join the group. Wendy nodded and just kept silent wanting to know more on what really happened to Lucy.

* * *

"THIS IS LAME!" Bree yelled out for the nth time.

"Shaddup will ya?! You're giving me a headache," Logan screamed back. He had been paired up with the woman for a mission in Clover Town to locate one of the zodiac keys that could have possibly landed there.

"This is hopeless!" Bree plopped down in the middle of the dirt road and pouted, "It's been like five years already and still no news about the damn keys. It would've been better if a Celestial Mage just popped up and declared they have the keys or something like that."

"It can't be helped, it'll take years for a Celestial Mage to gather all 12 keys of the zodiac let alone get a hold of one of them. If only the Fairy Tail mage didn't die then it could have been easier for us," Logan replied.

_There's something definitely not right here._ Logan added in thought. Lately, Kendric has been staying in the HQ reading something and would often go out to collect books about Stellar Magic.

_He probably thinks the same if he's researching something._

"Let's go back and report what we found out to Kendric," Logan told Bree who was busy bullying the ants from the side of the road. She was picking them up and flicking them to multiple directions to prevent them from entering the anthill.

"You're seriously having fun bullying those ants aren't you?" Logan commented and shook his head to mock her.

"What? It's fun; would you rather have me flick you around the place instead? That would be fun also," Bree answered while raising a finger to prove a point.

"Do that and I'll puncture you with knives or I could tell Yuuna you ate her dessert so she could go and make you bleed to death. Pick your poison," Logan answered back. Bree stuck out her tongue and stood up getting the point.

"Meanie," she said and walked down the road, "Anyway, what are we going to report back to HQ? we didn't find anything remember?"

"That's the point," Logan said and walked past her.

"Well that's easy," Bree replied and followed him.

* * *

The trip to the mansion was a bit stiff. Elise had been very polite to talk with all of them but was quite nervous around Natsu who constantly gave her a hard stare.

_Why is he even staring at me like that? It feels embarrassing_, Elise thought. It's not that she was mad at Natsu or anything, it just felt embarrassing to be stared at by him after that crushing hug earlier.

After arriving at the mansion, Elise invited them in and was greeted by the servants of the lavish mansion. They were all in a row and bowed down in respect to her. She immediately greeted them back so they wouldn't have to bow for too long. Natsu and the others were amazed at the mansion. It was huge just like Lucy's old house but this was warmer and had a homey feel to it. An old man came down the steps and bowed before greeting them all.

"Welcome back Milady, it seems you brought us guests," Sebastian said.

"Yes Sebastian, I invited them for lunch to properly thank them, they saved the twins earlier from being trampled upon a horse, I hope it's not a bother though," Elise said and seemed apologetic to the old man.

"Not at all Milady, we shall prepare the table for them," Sebastian replied with a smile and clapped his hands to signal the servants. He gave them orders and the servants all scattered to do what they were told.

"By the way Sebastian, is Richard here already?" Elise asked.

"Yes, he is in the study as usual, shall I call him out for you?" Sebastian asked.

"No, I'll just go to him," Elise said, "I need to speak with someone to notify him of your presence, he owns this house so I have to inform him of this. Sebastian will direct you to where you may stay for a while. Excuse me." With that, Elise bowed and went up the huge staircase with the twins following after her.

"This way please," Sebastian directed them and they all followed him to a big room with a door to the garden.

"You may stay here for the moment while we get the dinner table ready. I'll be sending one of the servants here to attend to you, please excuse me." Sebastian left and the group was left to speak amongst themselves.

"So what do we do now Erza? Should we split up and investigate now?" Gray asked. The others were as enthusiastic as he was except for Wendy and Charle who were still pondering amongst themselves.

"Not yet. That would be too rude of us and if we get caught snooping around a house like this, it would like we're bandits or something. Let's gather as much as we could by speaking with the people around. Remember we're on a mission and bound to leave by tomorrow morning to meet our intel in Clover Town so we have to gather as much as we can today then we could probably get back her after our mission." Erza finished explaining. A knock was heard on the door and a maid came in to greet them and inform them that they will be called in when lunch is ready.

"If you have anything you need please don't hesitate to ask," the maid said.

"We're fine, thank you," Erza said.

"Elise-san seems really nice," Erza commented.

"Yes she is," the maid replied back.

"Has she always been here?" Erza asked the maid.

"Ever since Master Richard found her lying in the beach five years ago," the maid replied.

"I see, so she just appeared here five years ago? What was she doing in the beach?" Erza asked further.

"You see, Lady Elise was found injured near some rocks in the beach five years ago. Master Richard happened to be there that time and that's where he found her. He helped her recover and took care of her. My master is a kind man so it's no surprise that she fell in love with him and Milady is a bright and loving woman so my Master also loved her. They just got engaged five months ago and their wedding is due a month from now." The maid finished explaining.

A loud thump was heard and all eyes were on Natsu who was gritting his teeth and had his clenched fist on top of the table that he hit.

"Please ignore him his head just hurts," Erza told the maid to ease her fright. She gestured for Gray to talk to Natsu and Gray got the message.

"Oi baka, calm down will you? We know how you feel but right now gathering as much info as we could is important," Gray whispered to Natsu. Natsu seemed to relax a bit thinking that it will all turn out good in the end. Right now he just wanted Lucy back with them to Magnolia and back in his arms.

"By the way, are those two children theirs?" Erza asked. This question made Natsu tense and was biting back his urge to scream and go berserk if ever the maid said yes. Gray and Happy both tried to calm Natsu down and they knew were both ready to knock him out if he would suddenly go berserk.

"No," and that eased the tension in the room, "When the Master found Milady in the beach, they found out from the doctor that she was already pregnant so Master Richard took her in and cared for her. No one really knows that much about Milady here. The best people to ask about would be the Master himself or Sebastian as they were the ones who found her." The maid finished explaining. Both Wendy and Charle froze at that.

"I see," Erza replied.

"Excuse me for a while, I need to check and see if lunch is ready," the maid said and excused herself from the group.

"This is weird. At some point I can tell that it is Lucy we are talking about but the fact that she was pregnant before they found her doesn't match her at all," Erza finished concluding.

"Looks like we just have the wrong girl," Gray said.

"Aye," Happy said with sadness in his voice.

"You're wrong!" Charle exclaimed. Everybody looked at Charle.

"What do you mean Charle?" Happy asked.

"She is the real Lucy and Wendy can attest to that. Right Wendy?" Charle said.

"What is Charle talking about Wendy?" Gray asked.

"Um you see…

Just as she was about to say something, the maid came in and announced that they will be going to the dining hall now.

"We'll talk more about this later. Let's go," Erza said cutting off Wendy's revelation.

Natsu was getting impatient as time went by. He wanted answers and wanted Lucy by his side. His limits were already being tested knowing that he'll see Lucy again and this time with the _fiancée_ that they have been talking about.

_I already know I'm going to hate this lunch_, Natsu thought to himself.

* * *

**A/N: **Send reviews for your comments about the chapter. Looking forward to reading them.


	11. Chapter 11

**CHAPTER 11: Investigations**

**Author's notes: **I'm so sorry for not updating for a long time. You see, my PC just went dead so I wasn't able to type anything. I'm currently trying to look for a workaround for this until my PC starts working again so sorry guys. Anyway, I'll be doing this old school for now and write the chapters in hard copy manuscripts. Enjoy the chapter and tell me what you think, okay?

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters. I only own the supplemental characters I've added to this story.

The group entered the lavish dining hall of the mansion and were seated on the long table full of fancy meals fit for royalty. There were a variety of meals for chicken, beef, turkey, fish, seafood, salads and a whole lot of desserts from colourful cupcakes to intricately designed cheesecakes and tarts.

"Whoa, isn't this a bit too much?" Gray breathed out.

"Right," Erza replied.

"FISH! Charle look, there's a lot of fish!" Happy exclaimed.

"Control yourself a bit," Charle said.

"Maybe they have other guests?" Wendy asked.

Everyone was really amazed at how perfect the dining table looked. The only person scowling the whole time and ignoring everything completely was Natsu. He didn't care how the food smelled or looked like right now. All he wanted was answers.

"What's the matter Natsu?" Happy asked.

Natsu just scowled. He was really pissed right now. Not only was he pissed that Lucy didn't remember him but also, they just found out that she is going to get married a month from now to someone who he will surely hate and probably burn with his flames.

"Thank you for accepting my invitation guild wizards," a voice said from behind them. Everybody looked behind and saw Elise standing beside a brown-haired man. The man spoke up.

"I heard of what you did for Kiryuu and Kayla and I would like to thank you for saving them. My name is Richard Jurener, head of Lazuli Village. Please enjoy the meals we have prepared for you," Richard stated.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Richard-san. I am Erza Scarlet, these are my friends and teammates Gray, Wendy, Happy, Charle and Natsu," Erza introduced accordingly.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all. Please take a seat and feel free to eat anything you like." Richard offered.

Everyone took their places on the table. Happy and Gray immediately grabbed the food that they could reach. Erza gave a loud cough to insinuate to the two of them to act accordingly. Both of them got the message and started to eat a bit more civil now. Erza then started her chat with Elise.

"Elise-san and Richard-san, thank you for inviting us over for lunch. I hope that we didn't bother you because of this." Erza said.

"Not at all. Besides, you saved my children so it's just proper that I thank you properly." Elise responded.

"By the way, where are your children?" Charle asked.

"Kiryuu and Kayla are with Mathilda. They will be coming down any moment now." Elise answered.

On cue, the two came rushing in with Mathilda following after them. They immediately sat beside their mother grinning while grinning at the guests.

"Children, what did I say about running to the table?" Elise asked.

"Never do that-," Kiryuu replied.

"-especially when there are guests," Kayla finished.

"We're sorry mom," both said in unison.

"I apologize Milady, I wasn't able to remind them of it," Mathilda said while bowing to express her sincere apology.

"It's all right Mathilda," Elise said.

The twins suddenly looked at the guests and started asking questions.

"Hey hey is it true that you are all wizards?" Kiryuu asked.

"What magic do you use?" Kayla asked. Then Kiryuu asked again followed by another question from Kayla.

"Do you belong in a guild?"

"What's the name of your guild?"

"Can you tell us a story from any of your missions?"

"How can your cats talk?"

"Are you all strong?"

This went on until Elise asked the two to eat first their lunch.

"You have two energetic children." Erza commented.

"Yes, they are quite a handful sometimes." Elise said.

"Their lucky to have two loving parents with them," Erza added.

"Oh, they are my own but Richard is not really their father. Not yet at least." Elise said and gave Richard a bright smile which he gladly returned.

"That's right, we heard that the two of you are getting married a month from now. Congratulations," Erza said.

Natsu had his fist clenched and his jaw shut tight that his teeth were slightly breaking from the force. He was boiling deep inside from hearing the conversation that Erza was initiating.

"Hey Natsu, just relax. Erza is trying to gather information. Don't get worked up too much," Gray whispered.

"Yes we are. Thank you." Elise said.

She reached a hand to Richard and held hands with him.

"I'm very lucky to meet her. She's the only woman I'll probably ever love like this and I'll be even luckier when she becomes my wife." Richard said.

"And then we'll be the luckiest because we will have two amazing parents!" the twins responded which made everyone laugh.

_I've had enough of this shit!_ Natsu thought bitterly.

"Thank you for the food," Natsu said and stood up. He started to walk out of the dining hall and Gray was about to stop him but Erza motioned for him not to.

"What's the matter? Was it something I said?" Richard asked.

"No, I apologize. He's been having a bad headache this morning so he probably wanted to get some rest." Erza said.

Elise was still looking out to Natsu and wanted to make sure he was okay so she also excused herself and followed soon after.

"Damn it!" Natsu exclaimed and punched the ground from where he was standing.

He went out to the garden and hid inside the small garden maze. He felt suffocated inside so he went out to get some fresh air.

"Are you alright Natsu-san?"

Natsu suddenly turned around and saw Lucy standing behind him.

_No, she's Elise now_. Natsu thought bitterly.

"Why did you follow me?" Natsu asked a bit intimidatingly. Elise was a bit uncomfortable for a moment but understood that probably the mage just had a bad day.

"I just thought that there was something that Richard or I said that could have upset you so I decided to follow you. I know I don't have the right to meddle with your affairs since we don't know each other but," Lucy started to explain a bit nervously when she suddenly got cut off by Natsu grabbing her in a tight embrace.

"Have you really forgotten about me Lucy?" Natsu asked.

"I'm sorry?" Elise asked back completely confused.

"Have you forgotten about the missions we took together?" Natsu continued and tightened his embrace.

"I think you're mistaking me with someone else –"

"Didn't you say you love me?"

"Wait! What? I didn't say anything like that –"

"Liar."

It was the only warning that Elise got before she felt a pair of soft lips on her own. She tried to resist by squirming away from Natsu's hug but to no avail. Natsu just tightened his hold on her and when Elise felt a warm tongue slide against her lips, she gasped and was about to protest. Natsu took this chance to insert his tongue into Elise's mouth and caressed her tongue.

Elise felt Natsu's tongue on her own and from just that simple notion her mind started to get hazy. She knew she could have bitten down on Natsu's tongue to get free from his hold but the sensations running through her entire body stopped her from doing that. Her hands that she was using to push Natsu away from her just stayed on his chest and she just succumbed to the feeling that she felt.

After a few more minutes, Natsu pulled away and saw a very flustered Elise. He hugged her one more time and whispered in her ear.

"You say you don't remember me but you still responded to my kiss. I know you're there Lucy, now that I found you I won't ever let you go." Natsu then let go of Elise and started to walk back but stopped and said, "I love you Lucy and I swear I'll make you say you love me again even if it kills me." He finished and left a stunned Elise.

Elise then collapsed and fell to her knees with her hands reaching up to touch her lips. Her lips were still tingling as if Natsu was still kissing her. Her face was flustered and she was trembling from his touch. She could also hear her heart racing from that encounter.

_What is going on with me? Why do I feel like I know him so well? It was just a kiss and yet I'm feeling so weird inside._ Elise thought to herself. Richard and her have shared kisses in the past but none of them had this much effect on her.

She hugged herself to stop her trembling but she still feels Natsu's touch on her and she just trembled further.

_Why am I trembling? Is this fear? Or is it…_ Elise started to think but stopped herself. _I'm getting married in a month. I should stop thinking like this. Richard might go look for me. I have to go back._ Elise stood up and fixed herself. When she was satisfied, she went back to the mansion trying to forget about what happened.

"Thank you again for your hospitality. We will be going now." Erza said to both Richard and Elise.

"You're welcome and please feel free to visit us anytime," Richard offered. Elise was a bit uneasy the whole time but she was trying to look unfazed so Richard wouldn't ask her why she was acting weird. She took another glance at the group and saw again that Natsu was staring at her with devotion in his eyes.

_Why is he staring at me like that?_ Elise thought and then she remembered what he said earlier. _**"I love you Lucy and I swear I'll make you say you love me again even if it kills me."**_ She started to blush and looked away.

"Well we will be going now." Erza said the rest of the gang followed with Natsu being the last to follow.

"Bye wizards! Visit us again 'kay?" The twins shouted in unison.

**In the inn**

"So what do you think Erza?" Gray asked. Erza had been interrogating Elise during their talks and even got Richard to tell a few things to them.

"It's still confusing. I can strongly tell that it is Lucy but the twins just put my thoughts in a whack. According to Richard and the maid we talked to, Elise was pregnant when they found her five years ago and that she had no memory whatsoever from her past or how she even got here. We have to know first if the twins are really Elise's because if they turn out to be lying about them then it is definitely Lucy judging by the time that she got here and the time that Lucy vanished from that cliff accident." Erza finished.

"The twins are definitely hers," Charle said.

"How can you say so?" Erza asked.

"That is something Natsu and Wendy can prove," Charle explained.

"What is Charle talking about Wendy?" Gray asked.

"Well, you see before the cliff accident, Lucy-san and I had a talk. She wanted to consult something about her _condition_," Wendy replied.

"What condition?" Happy asked. Natsu and the others were listening in to what Wendy was about to say.

"Lucy-san was pregnant that time with twins." Wendy stated.

"EH?!" Everyone in the room gasped. Natsu however, had his eyes wide open after Wendy's revelation.

"How did that happen? I mean, Lucy has never been with anybody before, right?" Happy said as a matter of factly.

"If she did have anyone we would have all noticed it," Erza said.

"Gray, could it be that you ambushed Lucy in her sleep? You find her cute, right? And being a pervert yourself, it's not farfetched to think that you're the father," Happy accused with judging eyes staring down Gray.

"Where did you come up with that idea?! And how did I become a pervert you bastard!" Gray fumed at Happy on being called a pevert and being accused of being a rapist.

"Would you stop it you two?" Charle reprimanded.

"Then who's the father?" Erza asked further.

"I am." Natsu replied.

Everyone looked at Natsu. Gray, Erza and Happy couldn't believe what they just heard.

"Natsu, are you serious?" Happy asked.

"Yes, I am. That explains why the twins smell very much like Lucy and I." Natsu said.

"It's true. Natsu-san is the father" Wendy confirmed.

"Something happened between us after the victory party. Does that make sense now?" Natsu explained. He told the group how he followed Lucy home and slept on her bed and what happened afterwards.

Gray, Erza and Happy were blanched from the story.

"Who would have thought you had it in you fire face." Gray commented.

"Natsu you're so bold," Happy added.

Erza just stayed silent and looked at Natsu as if he had grown an extra head.

"Now that explains things. Now what do we do?" Gray asked. "Should we take Lucy now back to Magnolia?"

"No. We have to prioritize our mission first." Erza said.

"What are you saying Erza? We have Lucy here. We should take her back with us so Master can help her remember," Natsu reasoned out.

"Aye, we can't just leave her behind." Happy said.

"We can't. Not yet at least. Have you forgotten about the Midnight Fang? They trashed our guild in search of Lucy and her keys. What do you think will happen if they found out Lucy is still alive?" Erza countered.

Natsu stayed silent. It's true that Lucy would be in danger if she was exposed now but he can't just simply abandon her here knowing that in a month's time she'll get married to some rich kid.

"Look, I know how much you want to be with Lucy now but we can't risk her life now. She's safe here and we have her keys hidden. The less she knows right now the better. We also miss her but we have to sort out the problem with Midnight Fang and to find out their goal." said Erza.

"I understand. Let's settle this Midnight Fang problem immediately. I'm fired up," Natsu said.

The others just smiled and were all fired up to finish the job and get back to retrieving their Celestial Mage.

_I'll go back for you Lucy, Kiryuu, Kayla… I'll be back for my family._ Natsu thought.

**Midnight Fang HQ**

"Yo Kendrick!" Bree shouted.

"We're back," Logan said and took a seat to the nearest chair in sight.

"Sorry we came back empty-handed hehe" Bree reported.

"It's alright. Yuuna found something out while on reconnaissance at Fairy Tail." Kendrick said.

"It seems that Fairy Tail has been hiding the keys from us all along." Yuuna said.

"WHAT?!" Bree exclaimed. "Those jerks! How dare they trick us. Well what are we waiting for? Let's get 'em." Bree said enthusiastically.

"No we won't," Kendrick said. Logan and Bree were both surprised by Kendrick's reaction.

"Why not?" Bree asked.

"They said that the owner died so we assumed that the keys already scattered. After a Celestial mage dies, the keys they possess vanish and scatter once more but from what Yuuna heard, it tells us something else." Kendrick explained.

"The mages were talking about their fallen Celestial mage and how her keys turned black. When they told us that the mage died, they were telling the truth but they didn't know the reason the keys turned black or why they still have them all in the first place. I'm guessing the keys lost their magic and the owner is still alive somewhere." Yuuna added to Kendrick's explanation.

"We need to find the owner of the keys before we retrieve those keys. Remember that our plan will be more effective if we have the owner together with the keys. Yuuna will continue to snoop around Fairy Tail. The two of you will search the owner and make sure to keep an eye on her. Just observe and wait for my command," Kendrick ordered.

"Alright," Logan replied already feeling worn out thinking of working together with Bree again.

"You got it boss," Bree said. Yuuna just gave a curt nod.

"Soon the world will learn their lesson for their sins. We will have our revenge." Kendrick said with a dark look on his eyes.

**A/N:** Reviews for your thoughts. Thanks.


	12. Chapter 12

**CHAPTER 12: Dark Past**

**Author's notes:** Here's the next chapter for you guys. Let me know what you think so far okay? Thanks for supporting this story.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters. I only own the supplemental characters I've added to this story.

* * *

Natsu and the others reached Clover Town the next day. They decided to meet up with the informant under the park bridge near the inn they will be staying at. The town was very busy during the day because of the upcoming festival and more people were coming in day after day.

"Alright, we have the whole day to relax for a bit. I'm sure you all want to rest a bit after travelling," Erza said.

"There were a lot of people in town than the last time we went here," stated Wendy.

"Well they have this festival to prepare for so there's no wonder that the town is very busy right now,right Charle?" Happy said while looking at Charle's general direction.

"But why choose to meet up with the informant at midnight? I mean, with all the people right now, isn't it advantageous as it will serve as a cover?" Charle asked.

"The informant was the one who specifically requested it so might as well go with it. Besides, if this person is a fraud and turns out to be the enemy then we'll just beat the shit out of the guy," Gray responded while cracking his fists.

"Natsu? Something wrong?" Happy asked as he noticed that Natsu had been too quiet all this time.

"Nothing," Natsu quickly responded.

"Are you still thinking about Lucy?" Happy asked.

No response.

"Cheer up flame-head, once we bust these Midnight Fang chumps then you and Lucy can live happily together with your children," Gray teased but being a bit serious to console the dragon slayer.

"Thanks." Natsu responded.

"Natsu," Erza called out. Natsu faced Erza and saw her looking blankly at him.

"What is it?" Natsu asked.

"Go back to Lazuli Village," Erza replied.

"What? Are you serious?" Natsu asked. He couldn't believe his ears. Did Erza just tell him to go back to Lazuli Village? Back to Lucy?

"I know you won't be able to focus on this mission after meeting Lucy again so you might as well be extracted from the mission. Go back and guard Lucy, we'll handle this one," Erza said.

"Aye aye captain," Natsu quickly responded and ran as fast he could back to Lazuli Village.

"Is this really okay Erza?" Gray asked.

"We all know he won't be focused on this mission anyway so might as well let him be. Besides, we'll only be gathering intel here then we can follow Natsu back. I'll be going out to scout the area then let's meet back here to talk about how we are going to secure the area by midnight," Erza said and took off. The rest just went their separate ways.

* * *

A knock came from the door before Mathilda came in and bowed to her master.

"I have returned with news from the wizards. It seems that they belong to the same guild that Milady came from," she stated.

"Fairy Tail, is that right?" Richard asked. Mathilda nodded to confirm.

Richard had done a background check on Elise long ago. He found out that she was a member of Fairy Tail and the daughter of the Heartfilia conzern Jude Heartfilia. He remembers quite well that he was supposed to marry Lucy Heartfilia due to the deal that his parents and Jude Hearfilia arranged. Unfortunately, Lucy refused so the wedding was off. At the time, he didn't really care but he was relieved when he knew that he wouldn't have to marry someone he barely even knew. Now, the bride he was supposed to marry before is engaged to him.

_It's like destiny is actually pushing us to be together. _He thought.

"Mahilda, you've done well. Keep an eye on Elise. Make sure she is never left alone with any of those wizards."

"Yes master," Mathilda said and bowed before leaving the room.

Richard knew that it was wrong for him to hide Lucy from her friends but whenever he thinks that she might leave him for them, his heart aches. He's learned to love the blonde and her children, treating them as his own family. If only he had known she was the person arranged to marry him before, he would have gone through with the marriage instead of just brushing it off. He stood up from his desk and looked outside the window. He saw Elise playing with the twins in the garden.

"I'm sorry but I'm going to be selfish Elise. I won't let anyone take you away from me. You were brought here for a reason and that's to stay with me by my side."

* * *

The day came by so fast. After familiarizing themselves with the area, Erza and the others already set out to meet their informant at the rendezvous point. Gray and Wendy kept their distance while Erza waited for the informant. Happy and Charle scouted above to see any suspicious figures. They had tiny lacrima communicators which they used to talk with one another.

"How is it going up there?" Erza asked the exceeds.

"We don't see anyone yet," Happy said.

"There's no one in my sight as well," Gray answered.

"Mine as well," Wendy responded.

"Wait! I see someone," Charle pointed out to a lone figure walking towards Erza. The person had a hood that covered his face.

"Stay on alert everyone," Erza ordered. Everybody responded with a 'yes' and she once again focused on the person in front of her.

"Who are you?" Erza asked sternly.

"Long time no see Erza," the figure answered.

"How do you know me? Reveal yourself," Erza commanded.

"You still haven't changed huh?" the figure answered and he slowly took off his hood. Erza was surprised to see who the informant was.

"Jellal!"

"What? It's Jellal?" Gray asked.

"It's all right everyone. It's Jellal, you can all come out," Erza said and everybody approached the pair.

"I'm sorry if I have to make this rushed but I have to return back to Ultear and Meldy," Jellal said.

"So what intel did you find?" Erza asked.

"We have been monitoring the movements of Midnight Fang and who they really are. Simply put, they are the descendants of the original Midnight Fang guild," said Jellal.

"Descendants?" Gray asked.

"Yes. Long ago, Midnight Fang was the strongest dark guild ever established. Even the Baram Alliance would fear their name because of the terror they can unleash to the world. Due to their dream of taking over the entire world, the official guilds together with the dark guilds allied themselves to crush the entire guild. The council gave permission to the dark guilds that they can kill as many members as they can just to extinguish the threat that they impose." Jellal stated.

"That's horrible! How can the council do such a thing?" Wendy said.

"When it comes to the greater good, the council will do whatever it takes to protect it. Seeing as detaining the wizards of that guild won't be sufficient, they decided to let the circumstances be. Of course, if the dark guilds did it, then there would be no violation at all. The official guilds however, opposed this but since no one really stood up against the council back then, they just obeyed the order of catching the wizards and letting the dark guilds finish them off," said Jellal.

"Aside from that, the dark guilds took their _hunting_ to greater heights as they also killed off the families of the members to completely erase any remnants of Midnight Fang. They feared the power of their wizards and thinks that leaving even a child behind who could possess extreme magical abilities can serve as a threat as they might avenge their fallem comrades someday," Jellal added.

"So you're saying that these people who wants to take the keys that Lucy has are the children who wants revenge for the slaughter of their family?" Gray asked.

"Exactly." Jellal answered.

"Well, after hearing the story, I can't say that I don't feel sorry for them. Capturing them would be acceptable but killing them is just too much. Even if they were associated with the former guild, that doesn't mean that they should also be blamed for their sins." Charle said.

"These people think so too that's why they resurfaced. They want to avenge the deaths of their families and to return the suffering that they have received. We still haven't grasped what their true plans are but we will be keeping you informed about it. The only thing I can tell you is that they are desperate to find the keys and a Celestial mage that they can use for the plan. It's best if we can stop them from obtaining both or even at least one of them since I don't think there are any other Celestial mage in this time after Lucy's untimely passing," Jellal advised.

"There actually is. You see, Lucy is still alive," Happy stated. Jellal was shocked to hear this from the group. He looked at each and every one of them to confirm and everyone just nodded.

"How?" Jellal asked.

"We don't know either. We just saw her in a village on our way here. The thing is she doesn't remember anything at all, not even us." Erza said.

"Well I'm glad she is still alive but for the best interest of everyone, you need to take close watch of her because if one of the wizards from Midnight Fang happens to meet her then she is doomed." Jellal said.

"But they don't know how she looks like so I think she will still be safe, right?" Happy asked.

"You don't understand. Midnight Fang was known for another name before which is why it's dangerous for Lucy to be seen by one of them," Jellal said.

"What are you saying?" Erza asked.

"They were also known before as the _Star Eaters_," Jellal said.

"Star eaters?" Erza asked.

"Yes, because they hunt Celestial mages and kill the to gain power from the heavens." Answered Jellal.

Everyone felt a chill run up their spine after hearing that. Now they were frightened for what might happen to Lucy if she got found out.

* * *

"Are we there yet?" Bree asked Logan for the nth time.

"Not yet. How many times do I have to tell you that? Are you really trying to annoy me that much woman?" Logan asked irritatingly.

"Well it helps me kill boredom," Bree answered while shrugging at him.

"You are such a kid," Logan commented.

"What? I'm a full-grown lady just so you know," Bree said while putting her hands on her hips and acting all lady-like.

"Really? I haven't noticed," Logan said and brushed her off.

"Why you –

"Shh," Logan said suddenly stopping.

"What now?" Bree asked.

"Hide," Logan said and grabbed Bree to the nearest bush and hid in the shadows as Logan manipulated the clouds to cover the sun.

"What the hell are we hiding here for?" Bree asked and stopped when she saw a pink-haired mage running towards their direction.

"Isn't that the one from Fairy Tail? Let's bust him up," Bree said. Logan stopped her from revealing their cover and ushered her up.

Natsu stopped from his tracks when he smelled a familiar scent in the air.

_Is he sniffing us out?_ Logan thought. He then made it rain to cover their scents from the air and he thickened the moisture just for good measure. Natsu started running again when it started to rain.

"That was close," Logan said.

"Why did we have to hide from him? You're such a wuss you know that?" Bree said.

"Let's follow him he might lead us to the Celestial mage," Logan said completely ignoring Bree's insult at him.

"What makes you think he'll lead us there?" Bree asked and snorted.

"Just a hunch," Logan answered.

The two started to follow Natsu to a safe distance so they won't be sniffed out. The direction they were headed to was to a small village they past by hours ago. Lazuli Village.

* * *

**A/N: **Reviews for your comments.


	13. Chapter 13

**CHAPTER 13: Family Time**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters but I do own the supplemental characters in this story.

* * *

It was a bright and sunny morning in Lazuli Village. Elise decided to go to the village market to buy a new book from the bookstore. Before leaving, she knocked on the door to Richard's study to inform him. She went in and saw Richard deep in thought while looking at some papers.

"I'm sorry dear, did I bother you?" Elise asked.

Richard looked up surprised to see Elise in front of him. He instantly placed the papers he were looking at face down on his desk and looked up at Elise. He gave off a smile before responding.

"Not at all. I'm sorry if I didn't notice you dear. I was just busy looking over some papers," Richard said, "what did you want to talk about?"

"I just wanted to go to the village today. Is that all right with you?" Elise asked.

"Certainly dear. Will you be buying a new book?" asked Richard.

"Yes, and I will be taking the children with me. You know, you should come join us sometime when we go out instead of just locking yourself here in the mansion," Elise said which tugged a smirk from Richard's lips.

"Are you sulking? But I do go out when I do my jogs at the beach," Richard said trying to act unfazed by Elise.

"And if I am? Come on Richard, too much work will kill you. Don't you want to go out with me?" Elise teased giving him a pouty look.

Richard stood up from his desk and approached Elise while putting his hands on her waist, "There's nothing more I'd love to do right now but you know I can't just leave my work unattended now right? I promise I'll make it up to you tomorrow." Richard swore and placed his lips on Elise's lips.

Before they could deepen the kiss they shared, a cough resounded in the room and the two looked at the door to see Sebastian together with the twins, who were giggling for catching their parents kissing.

"I apologize for intruding master but no one was answering when we knocked on the door," Sebastian said.

"That's because mom and dad were busy smooching," Kiryuu said while grinning.

"Is daddy going out with us?" Kayla asked after suppressing her giggles.

"No sweetie, he isn't," Elise said. The twins gave an 'aww' and got depressed just as easily.

"But he did promise to go out with us tomorrow," Elise added. The twins instantly cheered up and ran towards their dad and attacked each leg while spouting random things about playing with him in the beach, buying new toys, eating out and so much more.

"All right, all right, we'll do all those tomorrow, okay? Just let me finish my work today so daddy will be free tomorrow," Richard said being overwhelmed by the twins clinging on each leg.

Elise could only laugh at the sight in front of her, "Okay you two knock it off. Let's leave daddy alone for now," Elise said.

"Don't have too much fun without me," Richard called out before they all left and closed the door. He went back to his desk and looked at the papers he was reading through earlier. They were reports sent in by Mathilda about Lucy's past and information about Fairy Tail. It says in the report that an accident happened prior to the day Elise showed up in the beach. Fairy Tail's resident Celestial mage Lucy Heartfilia died after falling from a cliff in a violent storm. The details in the report all pointed out evidence that Elise is indeed Lucy but the one thing that bothered him a lot was the information on her team, most specifically on Natsu Dragneel. It says in the report that the two have been the closest in their team and judging by how Natsu looked at Elise the whole time during their visit to the mansion, he can already tell that there was a history between the two. Another disturbing thing is that there are wizards who are trying to hunt her down for reasons that are still unknown. He couldn't risk Elise's life with those wizards so he wasn't willing to return her to her friends who could just expose her and the twins to danger.

Mathilda was supposed to guard Elise today to make sure that she does not run into them again but she suggested to hire a couple of friends who she says will be able to help. She went out to meet with them and promised to introduce them tonight. Of course, without anyone from the mansion noticing except for him and Sebastian who knows about Elise's past.

* * *

"I finally made it!" Natsu exclaimed. He was exhausted after travelling for one whole day on foot to Lazuli Village. He took a seat under a tree to catch his breath and took a long hard sniff of air and –

Sniff sniff

_That smells like – _

"LUCY!"

After recognizing her scent, Natsu stood up and followed the scent. Excited to be able to see Lucy once again. Unbeknownst to him, two figures were solemnly following him. The two have been able to remain hidden all this time from Natsu by keeping a safe distance away from and by manipulating the wind around them to mask their scents.

"I actually thought he sniffed us out back there," Logan said breathing a sigh of relief.

"How long are we gonna keep on doing this. It's a real drag you know," Bree irritatingly said.

"Until we find what we're looking for which is I think not that long now," Logan said, "Come on."

"This better be worth it," Bree complained and followed Logan keeping a safe distance from Natsu but keeping him in sight.

Natsu rounded a corner to see the familiar carriage in front of a bookstore. Outside, he saw two children sneaking their way out of the shop and running behind the carriage to avoid being seen by the chauffeur.

"Looks like those two are about to get into trouble again. Okay, time to be the good father that I should be for them. I'm fired up," Natsu said releasing a grin of his own and sneaking behind the two children.

The twins were unaware that they were being followed and continued to sneak out and entered an alley to avoid being seen. Before they could both run across the street, they were lifted up the air by their collars and a voice spoke up, "Where do you the two of you are going?"

The twins looked behind them and saw Natsu grinning at them.

"NATSU-SAN!" the twins yelled and lounged forward to tackle him to the ground. Now Natsu was unprepared for the twins so they all stumbled back and ended up sprawled on the ground.

Logan and Bree were silently watching over Natsu and trying to figure why he would bother to go to this village just to see two brats.

"This was a waste of time! He came here to play with two loud brats. We should've just left earlier and did what Kendric wanted us to do," Bree complained.

Logan thought that Bree was probably right so he turned back as well and started to follow Bree to look for the Celestial Mage that they were supposed to find when a voice made them halt for a moment and turn around to see the person.

"Kiryuu! Kayla! What's going on here? Wait, Natsu-san is that you? What are you doing here?" Elise spoke up confused to see Natsu with the twins on top of him. Logan and Bree had a good look at the blonde and knew from that moment that they have finally found their target.

"Found you," Logan said.

"That blonde's a Celestial mage, isn't she? I can tell from the magic that I sense from her," Bree said.

"There's no mistaking it. Now all we have to do is stay by her and keep watch but we need to inform Kendric about this," Logan said, "I'll be sending out a wind message later."

"Why not take her right now? That fire mage won't be able to stop us. He can't even lift a finger against me before," Bree said.

"Our orders were to locate and watch her. Until we are given an order to capture her then won't do it." Logan answered.

The two stayed close watch while Natsu stood up and brushed the dirt off his pants. The twins were on either side of him looking up at him. Elise took the children and told them to apologize for knocking him over and for escaping again.

"I am so sorry if the twins troubled you in any way," Elise said with an apologetic look on her face.

"That's fine," Natsu said while grinning at Lucy.

"Hey Natsu-san, can you show us your magic?" Kiryuu asked with bright eyes.

"Ryuu-chan, I don't think we should bother Natsu-san. He must be busy with his job right now," Elise said. The twins' faces became depressed so Elise knelt in front of them to try and cheer them up.

"Hey, cheer up okay? We're supposed to have fun today, remember?" Elise said.

The twins looked up and suddenly smiled. Elise thought that her talk had worked quickly but noticed that they were looking behind her. She quirked an eyebrow and looked behind her as well to check what caught the twins' attention. She gasped as she saw Natsu with a flaming fist raised and smiling at the twins.

"Cool," Kiryuu said with awe.

"That's beautiful," Kayla said.

Elise looked at awe feeling nostalgic just looking at Natsu with a flaming fist.

_I feel like I've seen him do this before. But when?_ Elise asked herself.

Natsu extinguished the flames on his hand and knelt beside Elise to face the twins.

"Can I go with you today? I have no job at the moment so I can spend time with you guys," Natsu said. The twins gave out a loud 'YAY" and tackled Natsu to the ground for a second time. Elise could only stare in shock at the scene and stood up. She has never seen the twins this ecstatic to a stranger before but seeing them act this way made her smile. _Somehow, I feel that it should have always been this way_, Elise thought. Natsu saw her smiling and looked her way to give her a warm smile which made Elise blush. She suddenly remembered the time that Natsu kissed her in the garden and made her blush even more. _I shouldn't be thinking of that_, Elise apprehended herself.

"Okay, since I haven't bathed for a day and you keep on tackling me to the ground, how about we go to the beach today?" Natsu asked.

"Yes! Let's go!" Kiryuu said with excitement.

"Mom, can we?" Kayla asked being polite to not keep their mother out of the fun.

"Of course, if that's what you really want," Elise said, "We'll take the carriage to get there before lunch."

"A c-carriage?" Natsu asked feeling nauseous just thinking of riding it.

Elise noticed this and immediately apologized to him, "I'm sorry, I remembered you don't do well with transportation."

"Yeah I'm not really – wait! How'd you know that?" Natsu asked completely surprised that Elise remembered his motion sickness. _She remembers it as Lucy's memory,_ he thought.

"I… don't know. I just thought that on my own," Elise responded. She was curious on how she managed to know that. As far as she can remember, the whole time that they used the carriage to go to the mansion before, Natsu was fine with it. _How could I forget? He was staring intensely at me the whole trip during the time, but how did I know he had motion sickness?_ Elise thought.

The twins looked at their mom and at Natsu and thought that something weird is going on between the two of them so they decided to break the tense atmosphere by grabbing hold of their hands and dragging them towards the carriage.

"Whoa-" Natsu said in surprise.

"Come on Natsu-san! Let's go to the beach," Kiryuu said while dragging Natsu along. Kayla was doing the same to Lucy.

"Hurry up mom, we're wasting time here," Kayla said. Elise just rolled her eyes and followed her daughter who was holding onto her hand and dragging her along.

* * *

"SEA!"

Natsu, Kiryuu and Kayla all ran towards the sea and splashed enthusiastically. It was funny to see Natsu, who was just battling his motion sickness moments earlier, splashing water in the sea like nothing happened.

They all changed to their swimming outfits upon arriving. The twins had matching blue outfits with Kiryuu wearing blue trunks and Kayla sporting a blue one-piece swimsuit with two white ribbons on her left shoulder. Elise had a white sundress that accentuated the curves of her body and had her white hat on with a blue ribbon on it to shield her from the sun. Natsu bought black trunks with azure flames imprinted on its right pant leg.

"Mom! Join us here, the water's great," Kayla called out before getting splashed by his twin brother with seawater. Elise could only giggle and said that she needs to set-up their things first.

"Let me help you with that," Natsu offered, "You two stay close all right?" he told the twins.

"Yes," both answered in unison and continued chasing each other along the shore.

Natsu took the big umbrella and set it up with ease while Elise fixed the blanket.

"I'll be going back to the carriage to get the picnic baskets," Elise said but Natsu offered that he will do it himself.

"I'll go get them. You can stay here and have fun with the kids." Natsu said and ran towards the carriage where the chauffeur was unloading the picnic baskets. Elise muttered a 'thank you' before lying down under the shade and closing her eyes. She took a breath of the fresh air and smiled at how relaxing this feels for her. She opened her eyes and saw Natsu was already back and was looking at her for some time now. He had a smile on his face and a loving look on his eyes. Elise could only blush and promptly sat up and looked the other way while fiddling her hair.

"W-what's so funny?" she asked nervously. _Why am I being fidgety around him?_

"Sorry, did I make you uncomfortable? It was nothing, I just liked how relaxed you look earlier," Natsu said.

"Oh okay," Elise said.

"The chauffeur went back to the mansion. He said he'll pick you up by sundown," Natsu said.

"Is that so? Okay, thanks again for the baskets," Elise said now facing him.

"Now let's not waste this time and play with the kids on the beach," said Natsu.

He stood up and held out a hand to Elise. She just looked at Natsu's hand and at his face and felt another bout of nostalgia from the gesture. _I feel like this has happened before, but when?_ Elise thought. She just shook her head and smiled. She held out her hand to which Natsu held onto and drag her to the beach where the twins were happily playing.

_I'm never letting go of your hand ever again Luce_ was the running thought in Natsu's head at the time.

* * *

It was almost sundown and the day had gone faster than they have expected. They have built sandcastles with the twins and even buried Natsu's body under the sand while sculpting the sand to make it look like a mermaid's body. They also played with the beach ball that they brought along and played a game of tag. During lunch, they competed on who can spit watermelon seeds farthest to which Natsu won easily with an extra Fire Dragon's Roar. Luckily, he directed it to the sea so no harm was done. Now the twins were too exhausted from playing too much on the beach and were sleeping sound on the blanket while Elise and Natsu were seated on the shore while waiting for the carriage to arrive.

"Thank you for playing with the children Natsu-san," Elise said.

"No problem. It was the least I could do," Natsu replied, _for not being a father for the past 5 years_ he added in thought.

"I really appreciated what you're doing for the children. This is actually the first time that I've seen them very comfortable with a stranger," Elise said.

"Well maybe that's because their mother keeps on boring them too much by going to the book store," Natsu commented.

"Are you saying that I'm boring?" Elise asked responding to Natsu's teasing.

"Hmmm let me think…yes?" Natsu teased further before getting splashed by seawater in the face.

"What the-

"That's payback," Elise said while standing up and sticking a tongue out to Natsu.

"Oh you're going to pay for that one," Natsu said before standing up as well to try and tackle her to the ground.

Elise caught the playful glint in his eyes and was able to dodge before she got caught, "Better catch me first." With that said, she ran from Natsu while laughing. Natsu caught up to her and they were running along the beach like some couple in a cheesy movie flick. Natsu was able to catch up to her quick and took her by the waist. Elise was surprised and was laughing the whole time while she was spun around by Natsu and they fell on the ground with Natsu on top of her. It was only then that the situation clicked to them and they found each other staring at each other's eyes.

"You look so beautiful you know that," Natsu rather stated than asked. Elise blushed hard and muttered 'thanks.' There was something building up inside of her at that moment that she could not understand herself but it felt right for her. _This is not right. I'm getting married. I shouldn't be caught up with him._ Elise thought.

"Do you still remember what I told you before in the mansion?" Natsu asked.

"Y-yes, can we please not do this? I'm getting married and –

"Do you love him?" Natsu asked.

"Yes, I love him," Elise replied.

"Do you love me?" Natsu asked.

"Wait what? We just met. Can you please get off me now," Elise said while trying to push Natsu away but Natsu held her hand and placed it on his chest. Elise blushed harder and felt Natsu's heartbeat in the palm of her hands.

"You can feel it, can't you? My heart only goes like this when I'm with you. Now tell me you don't love me while looking me in the eye and I promise to leave you alone," Natsu dared Elise.

"Fine then," Elise replied she looked him in the eyes and she saw pure affection and devotion on those orbs. She felt like she was getting burned from his stare. She wanted to speak but no words came out of her mouth because of the look she was receiving from Natsu's eyes.

Natsu caressed Elise's face and leaned in closer. Elise wanted to protest but because of the burning desire she felt inside, she just succumbed to the kiss. It felt good to have him kiss her. It was just like in the garden. Her hands that she placed on his chest were shaking but slowly rubbing onto his chest. Natsu moaned from what Elise was doing and moved his other hand to run it on her sides while the other took her right hand and clasped them together. Elise was driven wild from Natsu's ministrations. Their kiss deepened and she let out a moan. Natsu separated himself for a moment to look at her face and saw that she was breathing hard and beet red. He dove in again and kissed deeper and harder which made Elise drunk from his kisses. She placed both her hands and twisted it in Natsu's hair. Natsu didn't mind the tugs that Elise gave his hair from time to time. He used it to know what actions pleased her more so that he'll do it over and over again. Their tongues danced together in a fiery passion and Natsu went down to attack her neck giving light kisses on it that made Elise panting. Elise anchored her legs on Natsu's waist while Natsu took this chance to run his left hand on her thigh and his right hand on one of her boobs to give it a squeeze. Elise bit her lip and moaned harder. Natsu ground himself on Elise and they both moaned together from the friction.

The sound of horses broke Elise's daze and she suddenly broke away from Natsu's hold and rose up placing a hand on her chest. Natsu stopped as well and they both parted.

"I-I'll go get the twins," Elise said before running towards the twins. Her heart was still racing and she couldn't understand why. Natsu was just looking at her with a plain look on his face. He stood up and helped carry the baskets. After loading them to the carriage, they bade their farewells and Natsu was left standing on the beach while Elise was figuring out what was going on inside her.

* * *

"Come in." Richard was expecting the friends Mathilda mentioned. She said that she will fetch them and introduce them to him by tonight but didn't expect that they would be arriving early. Luckily it was dinner time and so the people in the mansion were in the dining hall fixing up.

Three people entered the room with Mathilda coming in first.

"These are the people who can help us guard Mistress Elise from those wizards. They are strong guards in their own right and I have known them for a long time now," Mathilda said.

Richard looked the two up and saw a man who is probably a few years older than him dressed in a red long sleeved shirt with a black vest, black pants and black boots that had red accents on it. The other one was girl with jet black hair that was long and had a bloody red camella on her right. She was wearing a kimono that was black as well.

"So you can guard her from the wizards who are trying to catch her?" Richard asked the tall man.

"Of course. We'll make sure of it," the man said.

"Very well. Mathilda please escort our guests to their rooms," Richard said. Mathilda bowed and led the way for the two and closed the door behind her.

* * *

**A/N: **Here you go. This chapter is the longest I've typed so far. Please send me your reviews if you have any comments/suggestions/violent reactions (hope there aren't any hehe). I know the running on the beach thing is kind of a cliché but it fitted the scene so there you go.


	14. Chapter 14

**CHAPTER 14: The Past 5 Years…**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Fairy Tail and any of its characters, just the supplemental ones I've added in this story.

* * *

_Three weeks before the wedding…_

"Daddy do I really have to wear this suit?" Kiryuu asked with a frown and not missing a beat when he made a face after saying the word suit. Richard could only laugh at the child's antics.

"Of course. Don't you want to look handsome on mommy and daddy's wedding day? Every guy who's going to the wedding will be wearing suits as well. I'm going to wear a suit," Richard said trying to cheer up the little boy who was now pouting at him.

"But you look better in a suit than I am. I look stupid in this," Kiryuu said pouting even more.

Richard was wearing a sky blue tuxedo with a white undershirt and matching pants and white shoes. His hair was kept as it is since his wavy brown locks accentuated his looks. Kiryuu had a similar outfit but with an added bowtie that he hated because he said it suffocated him. The stylist tried to fix his hair back but they just spiked up back to normal so they just let it go. Richard kneeled in front of Kiryuu and took the bowtie.

"If it will make you feel any better then we'll just lose this bowtie. Fair enough?" Richard said while removing the bowtie and leaving the first button on Kiryuu's shirt open. The kid smiled and nodded to show his agreement on the matter.

Suddenly, Kayla came rushing in from outside and was happily giggling at herself. The two men in the room looked at her then at each other completely dumbfounded at why she was giggling.

"What?" Kayla asked after seeing that she was getting weird looks from her brother and father.

"What's going on with you?" Kiryuu asked and quirked an eyebrow at his sister. Kayla just twirled around and said, "This."

"I love the dress," Kayla said and smiled even wider. She was wearing a silver white sleeveless dress with a sky blue ribbon tied tightly on her waist. Her blonde hair was tied in a ponytail by a blue ribbon. Her hands had white lacy gloves and she was wearing white flats that fit her feet perfectly.

"You look beautiful sweetheart," Richard said while giving her a soft smile.

"Wait 'till you see mommy," Kayla said with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Kayla where did you run off to?" Elise called out. The three were expecting to see her to come in the room. The two men almost lost their jaw when they saw Elise enter. She was wearing a silver white sleeveless dress similar to Kayla's but hers were angled a bit in the front making the back end of her dress almost touch the floor while the front of the dress ended just barely below her knees. The dress tightly hugged her curves and the waist also had a blue ribbon tied to it. Her arms were draped with long lacy silvery white gloves that ended two inches on top her elbow. Her hair was tied in a bun but with a few strands curled on the sides to frame her face and her natural bangs were retained. Her lips were tinged pink from the lipstick applied on her. She was wearing silver heels that slightly gleamed in the light just like a diamond.

"Wow," Richard said.

"No kidding," Kiryuu added.

"Kayla why did you run off like that? The stylist said she wasn't finished with you yet," Elise reprimanded.

"Mommy you look awesome!" Kiryuu exclaimed. Elise blushed a bit at her son's comment.

"Thank you dear," Elise said and smiled at him. She then turned to look at Richard and smiled at him as well, "You look handsome on that."

It was Richard's turn to blush and said 'thank you.' He wasn't blushing because of what Elise said. It was because he was caught staring at her for too long. He couldn't help it though since she looked really gorgeous in her dress.

Just then, the tailor came in the room, "Oh no, you shouldn't be here!" the tailor exclaimed and ushered Lucy out, "Don't you know it's bad luck for the bride to be seen by the groom on her wedding dress before the wedding?"

With that, the tailor practically dragged her out of the room. Elise could only follow and gave a nervous smile to Richard.

"Daddy is that true?" Kayla asked. Kiryuu looked up at his daddy and was silently asking as well.

"No sweetheart. It's just a superstition that the old people of this village believe in," Richard reassured the twins. But deep inside, he felt something was going to happen pretty soon and he just can't shake the feeling off.

* * *

It was already past lunch when they left the shop. Elise was about to ride on the carriage when on the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Natsu. Somehow she wanted to just avoid seeing him but for some reason she wanted to follow him and see where he stays in the village.

"Elise what's wrong?" Richard asked.

"I just remembered that I have a book I was asking from the bookkeeper a week ago. I'm supposed to retrieve it today. You all go on ahead, I'll catch up to you later, okay?" Elise said and went on ahead to catch up to Natsu.

Richard was a bit suspicious of her behaviour and decided to follow her. He ordered the chauffeur to take the twins home and followed Elise.

_Why am I even following him?_ _I should be avoiding him, right? I don't really understand myself these days_, Elise thought.

"Oh hey Lucy!"

Elise was surprised and was yanked from her thoughts after hearing Natsu's voice. Natsu ran towards her.

"Natsu-san can we talk?" Elise said a bit unsure of what she was going to say. Natsu noticed this and so he cocked his head a bit and looked at her with confusion before answering.

"Sure thing, what did you want to talk about?" Natsu asked.

"About what happened in the beach, look it's a mistake –

"Before that can I tell you something first?" Natsu cut her off before she even finished her sentence. He grabbed her hand and then he started walking briskly tagging her along.

"W-wait, where are we going?" Elise asked.

"Just trust me okay?" Natsu said. Elise didn't know why but she certainly wanted to trust him. It was weird for her but to have complete trust on a stranger she barely knew was an entirely new thing for her.

They stopped in front of an old church house just outside of town. It was small and looked abandoned. They went in through the broken gate. There was nothing much inside it but broken pews and glass. The ceiling had an opening that lets the sunlight in. There were areas on the floor that were already broken and a couple of flowers made a home in them. Vines were creeping on the walls and just far off the front side near the pulpit was a sleeping bag and some other things.

_Are those his things?_ Elise thought.

"I've been staying her for the meantime. I didn't really have enough jewels with me before I came here in the first place," Natsu said while giving off a goofy grin and scratching the back of his head.

He sat down on one of the benches that we're still intact and dusted off the seat next to him. He then gestured for Elise to sit beside him. After sitting, nobody made a move nor a sound.

Natsu then started to pull out something from his pocket. Elise looked at it and saw that it was a ring. It was beautiful. It was made of gold with intricate details in it and a fiery red ruby on it that gleamed like a burning lava rock. She couldn't help but marvel at the beauty of that ring. Then Natsu suddenly spoke.

"This was supposed to be a gift. Five years ago, I was going to give it to the woman I love."

Elise kept quiet while looking at Natsu. He had a soft expression of sadness and loneliness on his face. Elise felt that Natsu was pouring out his feelings in this story so she kept listening to him and was actually drawn to listen to it more.

"How did you meet her?" Elise asked out of curiosity.

"I was on a mission together with Happy. She was a traveller and wanted to join Fairy Tail as well. She didn't know that I was a mage there yet not until I saved her from this bad guy and then I asked her to go back with me to the guild. We formed a team together with Erza and Gray then eventually with Wendy and Charle. We've been very close with each other. I didn't really realize then that I loved her, the only thing I know was that she was the most important friend I have and that I want to protect her and see her smile all the time."

"We've had a lot fights together and won them all side by side. I didn't really understand it all before but when I talked with someone about it that's when I finally realized. I loved her. When she's hurt, I wanted to hurt back those who hurt her. When she cries, I want to be the shoulder that she can cry on and hug her until she calms down. When she's scared, I want to be the one who will comfort her. And when she smiles, I want to be the reason that she smiles because she's the only reason behind my smiles."

"So did you tell her about it?" Elise said. She was intrigued by what Natsu was telling her right now but she also felt a bit jealous of that woman. Natsu responded.

"I decided to keep it a secret until the friend I told it about said that I was a big wuss for not confessing. She helped me plan on how I could confess to her. At first, I was scared because I didn't know how she would react but I also felt excited when I think that she might just return the same feelings I have for her. But something happened to her before I even got the chance to confess. She fell off a cliff on a stormy day. That was the day she told me that she loved me but she misunderstood the relationship I had with my friend Lisanna so she decided to leave that day. I blamed myself for what happened that day. If I had been brave enough to tell her sooner then she would still be with us. The past five years I've always cried myself to sleep thinking about how I could've saved her. Only Happy knew about it of course but I have every reason to believe that even Erza and the others are devastated on what happened and hasn't been able to move on entirely for the last five years."

"I'm sorry for your loss but I think that she was very happy to know all of you being such good friends and all," Elise said with a smile on her face. Natsu faced her with a determined look on his face. Elise was surprised with his sudden change.

"We didn't lose her. We just found her. She's alive and this time I won't let her go," Natsu responded, "that person is you, Lucy."

Elise was surprised. "W-what are you talking about? My name is Elise not Lucy."

"No, you're Lucy. Lucy Heartfilia, Celestial mage of Fairy Tail, my teammate, my nakama, and the only woman I will ever love," Natsu confessed.

"Look, I think you're confusing me with someone else. I'm not the one you're looking for," Elise said. She stood up and was about to leave when she was stopped by Natsu.

"I know you're still there Lucy. You can't remember me now but you will eventually remember. You have to! I won't leave you and our children in this village." Natsu blurted out.

"Our children? What are you talking about?" Elise asked.

"Kiryuu and Kayla, they're my kids, no, our kids. Don't you remember?" Natsu said.

"Youre going way out of your way now Natsu-san. Let me go," Elise said trying to get free from Natsu's iron grip on her hand.

"I told you already. I'm not letting go of you anymore. I lost my chance to see Kiryuu take his first step and for Kayla to hear her first words. I missed five years of being a father to my own children but most of all, I missed five freaking years of living happily with my own family." said Natsu. Elise felt the sincerity in his words and when Natsu let his emotions flow and released the tears he was trying to hold back, Elise just couldn't leave him. They both fell on their knees and Natsu just continued to cry while looking down at the ground.

This was Elise's chance to escape but she never did. Instead, she just hugged him tight to comfort him.

"It's alright. Just let it all go," Elise said while rubbing small circles on Natsu's back, "I'm sorry if I can't remember anything but it's hard for me to believe all this right now. I'm sorry but I just can't be with you right now. I'm sorry."

Elise then stood up and ran as fast as she could back to the mansion. Tears falling from her eyes for unknown reasons leaving trails on where she left off.

_I'm sorry. I'm so sorry Natsu_. Elise kept repeating these in her head and ran even faster.

* * *

"Well that was a touching show."

A voice suddenly said from behind Natsu. He looked back and wiped the tears from his eyes to glare indignantly at the person who spoke up.

"I knew I smelled something funny lurking around this town. Just didn't expect that you'd show yourself so easily." Natsu said while balling his fists ready to put all his anger to the jerk in front of him.

"We seriously can't have you interfering in our plans," Kendric said taking out his flute from his waist.

"You won't lay a finger on Lucy," Natsu said and rushed forward to punch the guy in the face. Kendric just dodged and jumped on top of Natsu smacking him on the head with his flute. Natsu was surprised when the flute hit his head. He crashed head first to the ground hard.

"I actually have to thank you as well," Kendric said. Natsu stood up and charged again to which Kendric easily dodged. He stopped on the ceiling and was standing invertedly on it.

"What are you talking about?" Natsu asked.

"Thanks to you, our plan will be a lot easier than it will be. Instead of using the entire village as a sacrifice, we can just use your children. That's great news for your council since the number of casualties would only go down to three for the meantime." Kendric said. Suddenly, Natsu was covered in flames and lightning and was seething in anger. Kendric readied himself to play his flute but was surprised to see Natsu in front of him in an instant and punched him hard making him fly outside and into the forest.

"You will not touch a hair from anyone from my family, you hear me you bastard! I'm going to kill you," Natsu said while approaching Kendric with a deadly intent reflected in his eyes.

_**R**_**o**_**a**_**r **_**o**_**f **_**t**_**h**_**e**__**L**_**i**_**g**_**h**_**t**_**n**_**i**_**n**_**g**_** – **_**F**_**l**_**a**_**m**_**e**_** D**_**r**_**a**_**g**_**o**_**n**_

Kendric played a note on his flute and formed a shield in front of him to block the attack but Natsu's power was overwhelming and he was slowly being pushed back.

_Is this how powerful he really is? _Kendric thought while struggling to block the attack. His flute was starting to break and he was about to get pummelled by the attack when Natsu suddenly stopped and clutched his head.

"Argh, my head, damn you argh!" Natsu clutched his head harder trying to stem the pain away.

"He almost got you there," Yuuna said. She was standing near a tree behind Natsu.

"Good job Yuuna," Kendric thanked Yuuna then approached Natsu and started to play a melody that was a bit faster and had a high pitch. Natsu felt his entire being trembling.

"What is this?" Natsu said trying to fight off Yuuna's Infliction Magic. Yuuna just intensified her magic to suppress Natsu while Kendric was playing his melody.

"**P**_**a**_**i**_**n**__**"**_

Natsu was immersed in greater pain now. It radiated from his head to his chest which made it hard to breathe for him. Kendric was only looking down at him while playing his melody. Dark magic started to swirl around them before he spoke up.

"This will be the last thing you will hear before you die," Kendric said. He raised his flute and Yuuna stood clear from Natsu. Kendric then pointed his flute to Natsu and the dark energy formed in front of him.

**R**_**h**_**a**_**p**_**s**_**o**_**d**_**y**_

Natsu was then engulfed in a black orb and stayed in there. Kendric and Yuuna started to walk away and the orb flew towards the sky.

"Goodbye Salamander," said Kendric before an explosion was heard from a distance.

"Should we start to move now?" Yuuna asked.

"Plan starts now. Have Logan and Bree retrieve the keys and crush any who will try to oppose us," Kendric commanded.

"What will you be doing after this?" Yuuna asked.

"It's time to play my music to Mr. Jurener and have him work as a puppet for us. We just need to make sure that he agrees to have the 'wedding' started as soon as possible," Kendric replied with an evil glint in his eyes. The two then vanished from where they stood.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **That ends this chapter. I'll be starting off the next chapter and I think it's going to be the chapter that all of you will be most looking forward to read. I think it's high time I return something lost from someone in this story (if you know what I mean). Send in reviews for any thoughts you have. Thank you


	15. Chapter 15

**CHAPTER 15: Pandemonium**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters. I only own the supplemental ones added in this story.

* * *

Richard was looking out the window of his study. He was deep in thought with what he just heard a couple of moments ago. He followed Elise who was tagging along Natsu to the old abandoned church house. He heard every single detail of Natsu's story and now he's conflicted on his own feelings. On one part of him, he wants to continue this charade with Elise but his other part feels how Natsu must have suffered losing his family and wants to tell the truth to Elise.

Sebastian came in to the room saw that his master was upset.

"Is something wrong Master?" Sebastian asked. Without facing the old man, Richard spoke.

"How will you know if you're doing the right thing?" Richard asked.

"Does this have something to do with Lady Elise?" Sebastian asked.

No response.

"No one can really tell or define what the right thing is. I believe that the question you should be asking is 'are you doing things right?' Lady Elise has returned and is now in her quarters. That was all I had to say," Sebastian stated and bowed to leave.

Richard looked back and called out the old man. Sebastian faced him and saw the saddest but most relaxed smile Richard has given him, "Thank you Sebastian."

Sebastian just bowed and made his move to leave. Richard then decided to go to Elise's room and finally tell her what he knew.

* * *

Elise was in her room and her eyes were red from crying earlier. She was so confused right now and didn't know who she should talk to. A knock came from her door and she looked up to see that Richard had already come in after knocking.

"I'm sorry if I bothered you. Are you alright?" Richard asked.

"I… I don't know," Elise admitted with her head downcast, "I just don't understand myself anymore."

"Is this because of what Natsu-san told you?" Richard asked. Elise immediately raised her head in shock and looked at Richard.

"How?"

"I followed the two of you," Richard said.

"Look, it was nothing. Please don't think that I'm –

"It's all right Elise. I, too, have a confession to make," Richard cut Elise off, "I haven't been entirely honest with you either."

"W-what are you talking about? I don't understand," Elise said.

"Your real name is Lucy Heartfilia. You're a mage from Fairy Tail. I just found this out after asking Mathilda to do a background check on you. I did that to help you recover your past but something happened along the way. I fell in love with you. Believe me I tried to suppress this but I guess I was too weak when it came to my emotions. Before, we were both supposed to get married due to an arrangement between our parents but you refused and I didn't really care because I didn't know yet then. I heard everything Natsu-san told you and I can tell you that they are all true. I know it's hard to believe all this now and I understand if you will despise me for keeping this from you but please know that I really loved you and that I'm sorry."

Richard made his move to move. He stopped before he opened the door and turned to see Lucy's ashen face, "I'm calling off the wedding. You are free to go back with Natsu-san along with the twins. I'm sorry Lucy."

He left after saying those words and Lucy cried silently after hearing all those. She was a wreck and didn't know what to do anymore. Everything just happened so fast. She went to her bed and cried herself to sleep. Richard was standing on the doorway and had a sad expression on his face. He then heard footsteps approaching and turned to see the two bodyguards he hired for Lucy's protection.

"Did you need anything?" Richard asked the two.

"Actually yes. We need you to do something for us," Kendric said.

"What is-

"_**S**_**l**_**e**_**e**_**p**_**"**

Richard then lost consciousness and fell on the floor after Yuuna uttered 'sleep.' Kendric looked at the door to Lucy's room and then back at Yuuna. Mathilda then came and saw Richard lying on the floor. She approached the two and Kendric just nodded. Mathilda carried him and looked at the two people in front of her.

"I take this as a go signal,correct?" Mathilda asked.

"Yes. Bree and Logan are already on their way to retrieve the keys. I'll deal with him later. In the meantime, I have a gift for our dear Celestial mage." Kendric said and entered Lucy's room.

* * *

Lucy woke up from her sleep. She noticed that it was already dark outside. She got up and rubbed sleep away from her eyes. Then she remembered everything that had happened. She remembered everything from the cliff accident five years ago up to the confessions Richard told her.

_I have to see Natsu! I need to see him now._ Lucy thought. She rushed outside and ran towards the abandoned church house. She wanted to say sorry to Natsu for not remembering. She wanted to return home to Magnolia. To her friends. To Natsu. She hurried her footsteps. The church house was close. She was almost at the entrance.

_I can finally be with you Natsu. I remember now. The twins and we can live together happily now._ Lucy was smiling with this realization in mind. She was at the entrance and was about to call out to Natsu when he heard voices talking inside. She saw Natsu with his back at her and a white-haired girl sitting beside him.

"I thought she really loved me. I guess she loves that rich kid more than me. I should have just stayed with you after all," Natsu said and faced the girl beside him.

The girl faced Natsu and Lucy got a clear view of who he was talking to. _Lisanna!_ Lucy was surprised to see Lisanna here. As far as she remembered, Natsu was the only one who returned here. She wasn't even with them when they first came to the village.

"It's all right Natsu. I forgive you. We were always meant to be together. Remember when we were still little how we talked about being a family in the future, having babies of our own and things like that," Lisanna said. Natsu blushed at the memory.

"And you would also blush like that whenever we talked about it. You were so cute back then Natsu," Lisanna said and giggled a bit. Natsu also giggled with her.

"So you're saying I'm not cute anymore?" Natsu said and he inched his face closer to Lisanna.

_Wait! Natsu what are you…_ Lucy thought. She wanted to call him out but when she was about to open her mouth to say something Lisanna spoke again.

"You're not cute, you're my hot boyfriend now," Lisanna answered and they closed the gap between the two of them.

_No way! This isn't true… _Lucy thought to herself. She was willing the image away from her head then something she didn't expect happened. Natsu opened his eyes and while his lips were still on Lisanna's, he looked at her and gave a smirk. Lucy got crushed so she ran away back to the mansion crying harder than before. _Natsu you liar! All those stuff you told me, they were just lies. How could you play me like that?! _Lucy was angry at herself now. She couldn't believe that she was so stupid to even fall for a guy like Natsu. Of course he had a thing with Lisanna. She's known that long ago, that's why she wanted to leave Magnolia five years ago.

Lucy was able to return to the mansion and back her room. She felt used. She was just some unlucky girl who got pregnant after a one-night stand with her teammate. _Natsu you sick bastard! Why?! _Lucy thought while she cried on her pillow and once again fell asleep.

A shadowed figure approach the bed and stopped playing the flute that he was holding. He smiled as he was able to accomplish what he had to do.

"I hope you enjoyed the music that I have provided in your sleep. You can thank me for your memories when you wake up and offer yourself as a sacrifice," Kendric whispered to Lucy who hasn't moved an inch from the bed after falling asleep earlier. The door opened to Lucy's room and Mathilda came in.

"Master Richard is now in his room. Have you finished implanting the illusion on her?" Mathilda asked.

"I just finished. The mage won't know the difference. What's important is that she feels anger, remorse and loneliness inside her. All those negative emotions will help us with tomorrow's ceremony. Wait for her to wake up and make her go to the young Jurener. I shall go and use my melody to influence that lord's mind," Kendric said before exiting the room.

* * *

**Back in Fairy Tail**

"So has there been any other word yet from Jellal and the others?" Master asked Erza. After the intel they received from Crime Sorciere a week ago, they haven't heard any news from them about what diabolical plan Midnight Fang might be up to.

"Nothing. Perhaps even they are having a hard time silently tracking them about," Erza replied to the Master.

"But don't you think this is a bit weird? Five years passed and yet they haven't done a move after they trashed this place," Gildarts said having come home from a four-year mission.

"We shouldn't let our guard down though, they might make a move without any of us noticing," Master said. Just then a large commotion was heard below the basement of the guild. It shook everybody who was above it for a moment.

"What was that?" Gray asked.

"It came from below," Happy said. Just them Mira came in running with a horrified look on her face.

"Master!" Mira screamed while running towards the group huddled in the bar.

"What's wrong Mira?" Erza asked.

"We have an intruder. Lucy's keys were taken," Mira said.

"WHAT?!" Master exclaimed.

"So they've made their move now," Gildarts said.

"But why would they need the keys now? I thought they needed to have –

"They know where Lucy is!" Gray cut Gildarts off.

"Damn it! Master we need to go to Lazuli Village. Lucy will be in danger," Erza said.

"I don't think that's a great idea," a man in a black coat said.

"Who are you?" Erza asked.

"Logan, from Midnight Fang," he answered.

"So you took the keys," Wendy asked.

"Nope little girl," Bree who was behind her said, "I did."

Bree then flicked her finger and threw Wendy flying towards Erza.

"Kyaah!"

"Wendy!" Gray shouted, "Why you, Ice Make –

A bolt of lightning struck Gray but he was pushed away in time by Gajeel before he took some damage.

"You bastard," Gajeel did a counter attack using his arm by extending an iron pole to Logan which passed through him and he vanished like air.

"What the –

Logan was behind him in an instant and struck him with lightning.

"Gwaah!"

"Gajeel!" Levy yelled.

"You won't be able to hit a mist with your iron poles dimwit," Logan taunted.

_**T**_**y**_**p**_**h**_**o**_**o**_**n**_

Wind started to rush around the guild. Lightning was striking violently everywhere possible.

"Everybody run outside! Move it," Gildarts shouted.

Bree appeared in front of the door, blocking it, "No one leaves here alive. We can't let anyone spoil our plans after all."

She clapped her hands together and everybody went flying everywhere with some of them getting struck by lightning while the others were either flung around by the immense wind or by Bree's magic.

Logan and Bree then converged on the door and Bree cramped it with debris so no one can go outside. The two left and set out to return to Lazuli Village together with the keys they have stolen.

Meanwhile, the strong magic that Logan has unleashed inside the guild is still continuing to destroy the place and everyone in it.

"We need to get out of here," Gray said.

"But the door's been blocked. If we destroy the building too much to create a new way out then the building might just collapse on us," Mira said.

"If we stay here we'll either get fried by those lightning bolts or be crushed under rubble. We need to think of a way to get out," Gildarts said.

"Below, let's hide under the guild for the meantime and create a way out from there," Happy suggested.

"Good idea. Everybody make your way below. Those who are capable assist those who were wounded," Master bellowed. He then created a temporary shield for everyone until they all got to safety.

_Natsu protect Lucy until we get there._ Erza thought while assisting an unconscious Wendy.

* * *

_Natsu… Natsu…_

_Natsu…_

"LUCY!"

Eyes darted open and Natsu frantically looked around on his surroundings. He was inside a small cave near the beach and was covered in bandages all over.

"You finally woke up," a voice said from behind him.

"Who's there?" Natsu asked.

Natsu looked at the figure and was relieved after seeing who it was.

"Jellal, what are you doing here?" Natsu asked.

"I was going to meet up with you to give you more intel on Midnight Fang's plans and ended up saving you from two of them," Jellal said.

"Thanks. How did you know where to find me?" Natsu asked.

"I heard an explosion on my way to the village so I checked it out and saw you battling it out with their leader but you failed to notice one of them sneaking behind you. I managed to pull you out of the dark orb before it exploded," Jellal said.

"I need to save Lucy and the twins. They said they need them as sacrifices," Natsu said.

"I know. That's why I went her to see you as quick as I can. They are planning on something big," Jellal said.

"What do you mean?" asked Natsu.

"They are conducting a plan called Utopia. It's a gate that can only be opened during this time using the 12 keys of the zodiac. It's a gate that they say which can change the entire world," Jellal answered.

"What's so special about today?" Natsu asked.

"Tomorrow is the festival of the blue moon. I think you've already been aware that this village celebrates a festival every once in a year. The reason that the village is called Lazuli Village is not only because of the lapis lazuli gemstones that they unearth from the mines but also because the moon turns blue on a certain day of the year where it converges magic to this village and blesses the land for a bountiful harvest. During that time, when the moon turns blue, the magic that it will release to the land will be used to open the gate of Utopia and Midnight Fang plans to taint that gate with evil and to spread it across the land. Evil magic will easily contaminate the magic from the world and put it in chaos. When that happens, the moon will turn red and good magic will cease to exist," Jellal explained.

"But what does Lucy and the twins have to do with that?" Natsu asked.

"Originally, to taint the gate with evil great amounts of sacrifice has to be made. They planned to massacre the entire village and their souls who will seek for revenge will be the fuel to taint the gate but there is another easier way to do this. Only a Celestial Mage who is the master of all 12 zodiac spirits has the ability to open the Gate of Utopia since being the master of the zodiac requires a lot of magical power to sustain them. If that mage is filled with negative emotions upon opening the gat, then the gate will be easily tainted. Your children, who are born from the flesh and blood of a powerful Celestial mage and a strong Dragon Slayer, will be the perfect sacrifice for the gate because they are the children of what can be considered the Masters of Heaven and Earth. Lucy, being a Celestial Mage, is a depiction of the magic of the heaven; while you, as a Dragon Slayer, is a depiction of the magic of earth." Jellal finished explaining to Natsu. Natsu could only stare at Jellal's explanation. He understood some of it but a few things were unclear to him. All he knows is that his family is in grave danger.

"To cut it simply. Their blood has to be spilt in order to complete their plan," Jellal interpreted. Natsu's eyes blazed in fury.

"No one is going to spill my mate's or my children's blood. If blood is what they want then I'll beat them all up and they can use their own blood for their stupid-ass plan," Natsu gritted out while clenching his jaws together and igniting fire on his fists.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **There you have it. Hope you enjoyed reading. I have been getting stronger reviews from some of you. I'm happy that you feel that way to this story so thank you very much. Send in your reviews if you want to share your thoughts on this chapter or in the entire story. Thank you.


	16. Chapter 16

**CHAPTER 15: The Bell Tolls**

**Author's Notes: ** I'm sorry to keep everyone waiting for the updates. You see, a lot has been going on this month so I'm really having a hard time doing updates. Our PC gave out big time so we had to get it fixed pronto but no news as to when it will be okay. T_T also, I have been going out just to rent a PC to do the updates despite having less sleep from work, not to mention we just moved our office and are currently working on new systems so I've really gotten my hands full for this month. Don't worry though because I have no intention of dropping this story. I will still post updates though it might take longer periods of time than usual but I'll still try to update weekly. Again, I'm sorry for this but please have more patience for me and continue to support this story. Thank you so much.

**Disclaimer: ** I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters. I only own the supplemental ones.

* * *

"Natsu you can't go out on your condition. You'll just kill yourself," Jellal said while trying to block Natsu's path. Natsu has been trying to get past Jellal and go to Lucy for the past hour. Despite the damage he received from Kendric, he was still able to muster some strength to stand on wobbly legs. He needed to save his family no matter what.

"Let me through Jellal! I need to save Lucy! I need to save our children!" Natsu screamed.

"I can't let you pass. You barely made it through against one of them. What makes you think you can handle all four of them?" asked Jellal.

"Well I can't just let them sacrifice my entire family for their selfish ambition. I'm going to kill them first before they even do that." Natsu said with blazing eyes.

"I know how you feel but you need to rest first. The ritual will be held tomorrow night so I'm sure that Lucy and the twins will be safe until then. They will most likely be guarding them since they need them for the ritual," Jellal reasoned out.

"I don't care. I need to save them," Natsu said.

"We need a plan and a few more people to help us out. Ultear and Meldy are already on their way to Fairy Tail. We need to wait for them before we make our move. Just be patient for now," Jellal said.

"Well you can't expect me to wait here. I'm going," Natsu said while trying to get past Jellal again.

'_Looks like I have no choice then,'_ Jellal thought. He covered his right fist with magic and punched Natsu on the stomach. He collapsed in Jellal's arms and he situated him to lie back in the blanket.

"Sorry Natsu, you were just too stubborn you know," Jellal whispered.

'_I just hope Ultear and Meldy manage to get here on time,'_ he thought as he looked at the setting sun above the sea.

* * *

Lucy was crying the whole time in her room after waking was so devastated from what she saw and heard from Natsu and Lisanna.

"I can't believe he really played me like that," Lucy whispered to herself.

Just then, she heard a knock on the door. She quickly stopped crying and opened the door. Standing outside her room was Richard.

"What happened to you? I saw you running back to your room earlier so I got worried," Richard said.

"N-nothing's wrong. I'm sorry if I worried you," Lucy said.

"If nothing's wrong then why are your eyes red from crying?" asked Richard.

Lucy was surprised Richard noticed. She instantly looked down to hide her face. Richard hugged her and whispered on her ear.

"I thought giving you back to Natsu would make you really happy again, but seeing that making you cry is the only thing he is good at then I guess I'll just have to take you back," Richard finished.

He released Lucy and looked her in the eye, "For the second time around, will you marry me?" asked Richard. Lucy nodded and cried on his shoulder. Richard placed his hand on Lucy's back to comfort her. What Lucy didn't notice was that Richard had a blank look in his face and from the shadows, a lone figure smirked and walked away whispering to himself while pocketing the flute he was holding.

"Checkmate"

* * *

"Thank you for your help," Erza said to a woman in white attire with long raven hair.

"Don't mention it. You were lucky Jellal sent the two of us here. Guess his hunch was right," Ultear said. Meldy was helping Wendy, Mira and Kinana attend to the wounded. Moments after the assault on the guild, Ultear and Meldy arrived and saw the guild starting to collapse within. Ultear used Time Ark to stop time and return the guild to its normal state while Meldy dispelled the magic trapped inside.

They informed Fairy Tail on what Midnight Fang was plotting and this bothered Master Makarov so much.

"The gate of Utopia should never be meddled with. That gate keeps the balance of magic of Heaven and earth. If they succeed, then we're all doomed and the world will plunge in darkness," Makarov finished with a serious look on his face.

"We need to stop them from their plans then. Besides, flame breath won't let those punks kill off his family like that. Guess we should settle a score for them for good," Gray said while cracking his fist together.

"Gray-sama your clothes," Juvia pointed out while drinking in as much as she can of Gray's toned chest and abdomen.

"Erza, gather a team of yours to go to Lazuli Village first. I need to discuss this with the Magic Council. The rest of the guild will follow you there after they finish tending the injured here. Be careful," Master said.

"Ver well Master," Erza replied.

"I'm going with you Erza-san," Wendy said.

"If Wendy's going then I'm going as well," Charle responded.

"Don't forget about me," Gray said.

"Juvia's coming too," Juvia said.

"I'm going with you guys. Besides, I want to see how Bunny girl and Salamander's brats look like gee hee," Gajeel said. Panther Lily and Happy also stepped up.

"Okay then. Let's go and save our nakama," Erza said.

* * *

**Dinner time**

"Lucy we will be having our wedding tomorrow," Richard declared.

"What? Why so sudden?" Lucy said surprised. She never expected that the wedding date would be pushed too soon.

"Well, the earlier the better, right?" Richard replied, "I've already arranged everything so you better rest tonight."

"O-okay," Lucy answered.

"Mathilda will be looking after you and the twins until tomorrow. The twins can stay in you room tonight," Richard said while finishing up his dinner emotionlessly.

"Yay! We get to sleep with Mommy tonight," Kiryuu exclaimed.

"Mommy read us a story, okay?" Kayla said with sparkling eyes.

"Of course dear," Lucy replied. She looked at Richard and can't help but notice that something was off. Everyone in the mansion seemed different to her. They all acted the same way as before but whenever she looks at them, she sees the same blank faces and looks on everybody. She shook her head and dismissed the thought.

* * *

"Are the preparations done?" Kendric asked.

"Everything's set. We've placed a perimeter on the village. No one will ever get in or go out," Logan answered.

"Good. The keys?" asked Kendric.

"We got 'em here. We also finished off those Fairy Butts so they won't interfere," Bree said. She raised her hand and showed a set of black keys.

"Very well. Mathilda look over the mage and her children. Make sure they don't notice anything to suspect us. Yuuna will help you guard them from a distance," Kendric ordered. The two women agreed.

"Our plan is about to be realized. Tomorrow will be the start of a new era for Midnight Fang, " Kendric declared feeling excited about the terror they are about to unleash.


	17. Chapter 17

**CHAPTER 17:** Gate of Utopia

**Author's Notes: **I want to apologize about last week's chapter because it was so damn short. I just wasn't feeling that well when I did that one. I apologize in advance for any typing errors I might incur in this chapter. Anyways, please enjoy this chapter and send me reviews for any comments you have. Thank you.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters just the OCs here.

* * *

It was a bright sunny day in Lazuli Village. Warm rays from the sun rained down the ground and birds chirped a happy tune. Lucy watched from the window how the butterflies danced with the bluebells in the garden. Today was her wedding with Richard and she knew that she was supposed to be happy on this day. However, something was completely off for her and she couldn't shake the feeling that something bad is going to happen.

_I'm probably nervous, that's all,_ Lucy thought.

A knock came from the door and the maid came in to tell Lucy that the carriage is waiting for her downstairs. She stood up and followed the maid to meet Mathilda and the twins who were waiting for her.

"Mommy you look beautiful!" Kiryuu exclaimed.

"Yeah Mommy, Daddy's going to drool when he sees you," Kayla added.

"Thank you both. Mathilda where's Richard?" Lucy asked.

"Master Richard left first. He is already on the venue. Weshould also leave now Milady," Mathilda said.

"All right then," Lucy answered. They all climbed aboard to go to the venue. Richard arranged for the wedding to take place atop the Moonlit Hill. It was a sacred place for the village because that was where the blue moon first showers its light once it appears. It is said that the magic of that moon is strongest at that place and that it is the reason why the mines near the hill produce Lapis Lazuli crystals that are very expensive when sold in the market.

"Today is the Festival of the Blue Moon, right Mathilda?" Lucy asked.

"Yes Milady. Why did you ask?" Mathilda asked.

"Nothing. I just wondered why Richard would want to arrange our wedding the same day of the festival," Lucy answered.

"It's probably because the Master wants the day of the blue moon to give you luck on this day," Mathilda answered.

"You're probably right Mathilda," Lucy said.

"Mommy look!" Kayla exclaimed as she pointed out the carriage.

Lucy looked out and saw that they were already near the venue. The place looked fabulous. There were white pillars around the area and seats were placed in rows similar to how they would look like in church. The pillars had blue ribbons around it and numerous flowers surrounded the area. There was a scarlet carpet in the center leading to the pedestal where the priest would be standing. A lone piano was located on top of the elevated part just in front of the pedestal.

"The ceremony would start soon. We should get you and the twins ready Milady," Mathilda said.

Lucy nodded and followed Mathilda. They were led inside a small tent where they were to stay until the wedding starts. There was a second tent next to hers and she assumed Richard was staying there. A few villagers have already arrived to witness the wedding. She looked at them and saw the same blank faces that she's been seeing since yesterday. She shrugged and pushed the bad feeling aside and focused all her thoughts to the wedding.

* * *

It was already late afternoon when Erza and the others arrived at the village and waited for Jellal and Natsu to arrive. They were instructed to wait for them just outside the forest near the village to avoid contact with the enemy before their operation starts.

"How long are we supposed to wait for Salamander?" Gajeel asked.

"Not sure. They should both be here by now," Erza answered.

They hear rustling from nearby and they all went to battle stance thinking that it could be the enemy. They saw a bandaged pink head and a blue head come out of the thicket of bush and relaxed their stance.

"Sorry wew ere late," Jellal said.

"Natsu what happened to you?" Erza asked. Wendy then approached them and started working on Natsu's wounds.

"He got ambushed by two members of the enemy. He barely managed to survive. We don't have much time. We need to stop their plans before the moon comes out," Jellal answered.

"So what's the plan?" Gray asked.

"They have placed a barrier around the village to prevent anyone from coming in and going out. Ultear, Meldy and I will open the barrier long enough for all of you to get inside. You will all be on your own once inside. We will try to see if we can completely destroy the barrier until the rest of you arrives but in the meantime, you have to stop the ritual before night falls," Jellal instructed. He then pointed out to a hill just west of the village," the ritual will be held there."

"All right. Thank you for helping us out Jellal," Erza said and gave him a soft smile.

"No problem. Now let's go," Jellal said and led the way.

"Natsu are you okay now?" Happy asked as he flew beside him.

"Yes, thanks to Wendy. Now I'll show those bastards why they shouldn't be picking a fight with Fairy Tail," Natsu said while cracking his fists.

_Wait for me Lucy. I'll save you and the twins. I promise,_ Natsu thought.

* * *

"Milady, we will be starting the ceremony in five minutes," Mathilda said after entering the tent where Lucy was waiting. She simply nodded and Mathilda bowed before exiting and standing guard outside.

The twins stayed with her in the tent and were currently fussing over each other's clothes. Lucy looked at them with delight then faced the mirror. She saw how beautiful she looked on her special day but the look she had in her eyes was destroying it. No matter how much she tried to smile, her eyes kept making her look the opposite. It was like all the sadness she felt from Natsu's betrayal were stored in there and she can't help but feel like she was silently mocking herself.

In the first place, she never really wanted to go through the wedding. It's not because she hates Richard. He's been very kind and caring towards her and the twins so she owes him a lot. However, if she continued to go through the marriage, she knows that she will only be using Richard as a scapegoat for her broken heart which in turn will break his heart. She doesn't want to do that to him. Lucy cared for Richard as much as she cares for her friends that's why she could never think of betraying Richard's feelings like that. But things changed, she was subjected to Natsu's betrayal again and she decided never to give him the chance to break her heart for a third time.

Now, she will marry Richard and learn to love him in the process. She will smother the love she feels for Natsu no matter how long it will take. Also, she has the twins to worry about. She doesn't want to raise them without a father. Natsu is their father and she knows he's capable of being a good father to them if she will base it on how he bonded with them on the beach, but she can never coexist with Natsu anymore and the twins will only be subjected to more sadness if they are raised by two parents who has no love with each other any longer. It will be difficult for them so instead, she'll raise them together with Richard who can love them like a real father.

_I'm letting go of you Natsu. As much as I love you, I have to let you go. I can't stay hurting in the past. For my sake and the twins' I'll move on. Goodbye Natsu,_ Lucy thought.

* * *

"Lucy!"

Natsu stopped from his tracks and was momentarily wide-eyed. He felt something wet cascading down his cheeks so he placed his hands to them and saw what it was.

_Tears?!_

"What's wrong Natsu? Why are you crying?" Happy asked.

"I-I don't know," Natsu responded. He irritatedly rubbed his eyes and put on a tough front before walking briskly ahead leaving Happy to wonder on his partner's actions.

_What happened back there? I thought I heard Lucy saying goodbye to me earlier,_ Natsu thought.

* * *

The sound of a piano playing disrupted Lucy's thoughts. She was then aware that the ceremony has started. Shesaw the twins being ushered out already since they were supposed to go on ahead of her since Kiryuu is their ring bearer and Kayla is their flower girl. Mathilda then ushered her out next and she started walking down the aisle. At the end of it, she saw Richard with no emotions at all while waiting for her. She looked around and saw the same expressionless faces from the crowd but took no heed of it. When she reached the front and was standing beside Richard, she noticed that the piano kept on playing but on a low and soothing melody. She looked at the pedestal where the piano was and saw a man with short silver hair wearing a black tuxedo on it.

The priest continued to say his speech emotionlessly and Lucy can't help but feel that something seems off like there was danger brewing right in front of her. The priest asked Richard for his vows and replied 'I do' before the priest turned to Lucy and repeated the question for Lucy to answer but before Lucy could respond, an explosion erupted just outside of town. She turned to face the direction where the explosion was heard and saw smoke rising up from it.

"Lucy," Richard spoke.

Lucy faced Richard and saw him gritting his teeth as if he's trying to fight control over something.

"Richard, what's - ?" Lucy tried to ask but was cut-off by Richard. The response she was given made her get goosebumps and fear.

"R-Run… T-They're a-a-after yo-u. RUN!"

Lucy wasted no time. She felt scared so she quickly looked for the twins and saw them being held down by two butlers.

"Mommy!" Kayla yelled.

"Let go of me and my sister you freaks," Kiryuu screamed while trying to get free from the people holding them down.

"Kiryuu! Kayla!" Lucy rushed towards the twins but a girl in a kimono stopped her advance. She was standing beside Mathilda who was also blocking her way.

"Mathilda, what's going on?" Lucy asked.

"We can't let you ruin our plan. Just give up already Lucy Heartfilia," Mathilda said with a dark look on her eyes.

"H-How do you know my name? what are you going to do to my children? Let them go!" Lucy yelled.

The one in a kimono looked at Lucy and uttered, "you'll have your answers later."

"What?" Lucy asked. She was completely lost. She proceeded to make it past them but Yuuna stopped her.

"**Sleep."**

Lucy then felt weak and started to collapse on the ground. She fought the urge to sleep but couldn't and the last thing se saw was the groundand her two children screaming for her help before she blacked out. The man playing the piano, Kendric, stood up and muttered, "Let us start the ritual."

* * *

Natsu and the others were able to break through the barrier thanks to Crime Sorciere's help. They stayed behind to permanently break the barrier and to wait for the rest of Fairy Tail to arrive. Upon breaking in, they immediately came across Logan and Bree.

"So it seems you survived our last meeting Fairy Tail," Logan said.

"Well you were too reckless to even underestimate us in the first place," Gray answered.

"You guys just got lucky last time but now we'll definitely take you all out like the trash you all are," Bree said.

"I'd like to see you try wench," Gajeel replied.

Just then Natsu jumped in front of the two dark mages and raised a flaming fist.

"**Wing Slash of the Fire Dragon"**

The spot that Logan and Bree were standing on exploded and smoke started to rise from it.

"That was a close one there. Do you want to die first?" Bree taunted.

"You bastards better be out of my way," Natsu said vehemently. He looked at them with a deadly glare that even gave Erza a shiver.

"Lucy. Kiryuu. Kayla. I'll save you from these punks and if the two of you will try to stop me then I'll burn you both down to the ground! You hear me!" Natsu roared angrily.

"Interesting," Logan said.

Suddenly, Gray and Gajeel stepped in front of Natsu.

"We'll take care of these guys. You go on ahead with the rest and save Lucy," Gray said.

"Say hi to Bunny girl for me Salamander," Gajeel said.

"Natsu let's go!" Erza said.

"You sure you can take those two?" Natsu asked.

"Of course. What? You think we're too weak for them? Now stop dilly-dallying will ya?" Gray answered.

"Thank you, both of you," Natsu said and followed Erza and the rest.

"You go on ahead. Juvia will stay and help out Gray-sama," Juvia said and went back to where Gray and Gajeel was.

"Be careful Juvia," Erza said

"I think they're on that hill," Lily said.

"You're right. I sense a large amount of concentrated magic there," Wendy replied.

"Let's hurry up. We need to save Lucy before they start the ritual," Erza said.

"Aye sir!" Happy replied and flew forward together with Charle and Lily to see if there were enemies ahead.

_Just wait a little longer Lucy. I'll save you just don't die on me yet,_ Natsu thought while running towards the hill.


	18. Chapter 18

**CHAPTER 18: Fairy Tail vs. Midnight Fang**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters, just the OCs on this story.

**Author's Notes:** I'd like to announce that this fanfic is just about to end already. I've got probably around 3 more chapters to do after this one and I would really like to thank you guys for liking this story. I'll be working on another NaLu story after this because I got struck with two new ideas. I'm just not sure on which one to do first because I have one which will be based on the real world and another based on the magical world. I'm still thinking it through but I'll focus on this one first. Again, I really appreciate all you guys for liking this story and I love reading all of your reviews so keep them coming alright? Enjoy reading.

* * *

Lucy woke up to a strange dark feeling around her. She slowly opened her eyes and blinked twice before fully opening them and looking around her surroundings. The once beautiful venue of her wedding became a dark and dreary altar. The benches were no more and the pillars that were once covered by beautiful ribbons were now covered by chains that extend out to each other.

"Lucy!"

The blonde whipped her head to the side and saw the tents became metallic prison cells that housed the guests of the wedding. She searched the owner of the voice and saw Richard together with Sebastian.

"Richard!" Lucy attempted to run towards him and help but noticed that she can only move within a certain space.

_What's this? _Lucy thought to herself.

She studied her surroundings closely and noticed that she was in an enclosed bubble. She tried to thump it hard with her fists hoping to break it but failed. She looked back to Richard and asked him, "Richard, what's going on? Are the twins with you?"

"I'm not sure either. I just know that these people are after you and the twins. They're not with us too," Richard answered.

"What!" Lucy exclaimed.

"They're over here."

A voice spoke up from behind Lucy and she instantly looked behind her.

"No way… What's the meaning of this?!" Lucy screamed to the person standing behind her.

Mathilda stood emotionlessly behind Lucy. Two orbs floated on each side of her where the twins were separately encased. They were both unconscious.

"I don't need to answer to you," Mathilda answered.

"How can you do this to us? Let my children go!" Lucy demanded.

"I don't think we can do that," another voice said. This one came from behind the piano. Lucy saw the silver-haired pianist step out from behind the piano and walk slowly towards her.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Lucy Heartfilia," Kendric said before giving a curt bow to Lucy, "I'm Kendric, leader of the dark guild Midnight Fang."

"Midnight Fang? A dark guild?!" Lucy said clearly surprised. The twins suddenly stirred and were surprised to find themselves locked inside a strange bubble.

"Mommy! Help!" Kayla cried out while pounding on the bubble prison she is in.

"Mommy, what's going on?" Kiryuu asked.

"Don't worry. Everything will be fine," Lucy reassured her children.

"On the contrary, nothing will be fine for you three. You see, the altar that we are currently standing on is a sacrificial altar. Now try to guess who are going to be sacrificed," Kendric taunted.

"No, let my children go! I'll let you do anything you want with me. I'll do anything. Just let them go, please," Lucy pleaded.

"Please let them go! I'll give you anything you want just don't hurt any of them," Richard pleaded as well.

"We can't. We need to sacrifice the three of you, mother and children, to succeed in our goal," Kendric said.

But why the children? They don't have anything to do about all this," Richard reasoned out.

"The twins have nothing to do with any of this. Just let them go. I beg you," Lucy pleaded more.

"They have everything to do about this. You know, you are partially to blame for this," Kendric said.

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked.

"Those two children will be sacrificed because of their parents."

"What do you mean exactly? I don't even know any of you so I don't think that I've done anything wrong with all of you," Lucy answered back.

_Are they talking about Natsu? _Lucy thought.

"It's not that you've done us any wrong. It's because of what you and the father of these children are. They are the children of the two powerful mages of this era. The children of a powerful mage of the Heavens and of the earth. You, being the Celestial Mage who has the 12 Golden Keys of the Zodiac and their father who is the Dragon King, Fire Dragon Slayer Natsu Dragneel," Kendric stated.

The twins were in complete shock after hearing the revelation about their parentage.

"Mommy is it true?" Kiryuu asked. His sister looking at their mother and waiting for her response.

"Yes, it is true. My name is Lucy Heartfilia, Fairy Tail's Celestial Wizard. Natsu is your father. I lost my memories while I was pregnant with both of you because of an accident. Please believe me. I never intended to keep it a secret from you. A lot just happened back then and your father and I were having issues with each other so…" Lucy trailed off, "I'm sorry." Now tears fell from her eyes and she hid her eyes behind her bangs to not look pathetic in front of her children. She then bit her lip and threw a nasty glare at Kendric.

"Such a look doesn't suit you. Now we need you to reactivate the magic on your keys. During your accident, your spirits decided to protect you from harm by transferring the magic from their keys to your body. In the process, you were saved and your children were protected instead of having a miscarriage due to your fall but your spirits paid the price. Their keys lost their magic and they were locked out in the spirit realm." Kendric then showed Lucy a set of dull black keys to Lucy. She was shocked to see her keys in such a state but was happy to see them again. Kendric threw the keys to Lucy which landed just a few inches from her bubble.

"Now I want you to focus your magic on your keys to awaken them," Kendric said.

"I refuse! I won't let you use my magic or my keys to harm other people. You'll kill me anyway so why should I even consider cooperating with you," Lucy answered.

Kendric looked unfazed by Lucy's answer. He looked sideways without moving his head and instantly Yuuna appeared from the shadows. She went in front of the two children and stopped just about a few feet away from them. Lucy looked at the kimono-clad girl and trembled with fear at what she might do to her children. The twins sensed danger and instantly braced themselves for what might happen to them. Fear showing on their faces.

"Stay away from them! Don't you even dare do anything to harm them! I'm the one you want so leave them alone," Lucy screamed but Yuuna just ignored her.

"We know that you are going to play hard ball on us if we just ask you to do it so we'll resort to much more _persuasive_ means," Kendric said. He nodded at Yuuna which signalled for her to begin.

Yuuna got the message and faced the twins. The twins were expecting that they will be lashed or beaten up in front of their mother but were caught unprepared for what she did.

"_**P**_**a**_**i**_**n"**

As soon as Yuuna uttered the word, the twins clutched their head screaming in agony. Lucy and Richard could only watch as the children became prey to Yuuna's magic.

"Please stop!" Lucy pleaded while trying to break open her bubble prison.

"Leave them alone!" Richard screamed.

Yuuna ignored them and continued to toy with them.

"**T**_**o**_**r**_**t**_**u**_**r**_**e"**

The twins became restless as they started crying out in pain. They felt whips landing everywhere on heir bodies when there was actually none at all. They squirmed and were crying and screaming out in more pain begging for their mother to stop the pain. Yuuna continued further and added more magic to make the pain the twins are feeling more and more realistic.

"**A**_**g**_**o**_**n**_**y"**

"_**F**_**e**_**a**_**r"**

"**B**_**u**_**r**_**n**_**s"**

"Make it stop!" Kayla cried.

"Mommy, Daddy it hurts, please…" Kiryuu wailed.

Lucy started to cry. She couldn't bear it any longer. The screams were hurting her inside and felt like she was being torn bit by bit. She couldn't take it anymore. Richard was feeling the same. He hated this. He felt like he could do something but at the same time he also knows that there's really nothing he can do but just watch. He gritted his teeth.

_Please, anyone, save them. I beg you Kami-sama,_ he thought.

"All right I'll do it! Just stop hurting them please," Lucy cried. Her face was ashen with tears. She felt really useless. She wanted to protect her children but she couldn't even do that. Kendric signalled for Yuuna to stop. The children panted. Their tiny lungs heaved heavy breaths of air from screaming so much in pain. Their faces were wet with tears that didn't stop from falling while they whimper in fear.

Lucy concentrated her magic on her keys. She was thinking of activating their magic to release her children. She focused on her keys and was planning to release a spirit that could aid her free her children and take them away from here.

_I need to do this quickly. Please work,_ Lucy thought.

The wind started to ripple around her. The keys started to jingle and levitated in the air while shifting colors from black to shining gold and silver simultaneously.

_She's mustering a lot of magic from within her. As expected, she is a powerful Celestial mage,_ Kendric thought. He snickered thinking that they caught a prize. Now their plan will surely succeed.

Finally, the keys shined a brilliant gold and silver light where Loke instantly appeared with glowing fists.

"Loke!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Sorry Lucy. It took me a while to get out. Don't worry your prince is here to save you from these thugs," Loke said with a smile.

"Loke you need to free my children and take them away from here. Get them safely to Fairy Tail. Take them to Natsu, please," Lucy said.

"But I can't just leave you here. I'll take the three of you out here –"

"No Loke, just leave with the twins. Forget about me, go!" Lucy said.

Loke grit his teeth. He had no choice but to obey since Lucy is his master. Yuuna directed magic to Loke to immobilize him but didn't take effect because her magic didn't work for non-humans.

"Regulus, grant me power," Loke muttered. He was covered with blinding light and gave him time to blind his enemies and rush to the twins and free them. He carried them both and rushed far away but was cut off by someone who knocked him sideways which landed him on a tree.

"You're too slow," Mathilda said. Loke felt his right cheek throb from the pain. He surveyed the twins on his arms that were clinging to him in fear and checked if they were harmed.

"Are you two all right?" Loke asked.

"Yes mister, thank you," Kayla replied.

"Mister you're hurt," Kiryuu said.

"It's fine," Loke said. He got up and dusted his suit going into battle stance but he felt a pulse of magic from his body and he suddenly weakened.

_What the?_ He looked at his key and saw that Yuuna had separated all the golden keys and placed them inside individual barriers. It was stopping him from gathering magic and was siphoning his magic forcing him to go back to the Spirit World. He held his ground and fought the urge to return because of the children he was hiding behind him.

"Give up Leo the Lion. With your key in a barrier you have limited power now. You won't even stand against any of us in your current state," Kendric said.

"Don't you think you're underestimating me too much? I am the leader of the zodiac and I will protect these two from the likes of you," Loke answered back trying to hold his ground.

"Brave words won't suffice," Kendric replied back and in a flash Mathilda was inches away from his face and he heard the children scream behind him and saw Kendric standing behind them and about to grab them.

_Shit! They're fast,_ Loke thought. Mathilda was about to strike him down when an armoured leg struck Mathilda' side.

"GET AWAY FROM THEM!"

Suddenly, a flaming fist landed on Kendric's cheek. The two were sent flying in the air but managed to land on their feet.

"I didn't expect to see you so sudden, Fairy Tail," Kendric commented.

Natsu just glared and saw that Lucy was being held captive in a bubble. Lucy caught a glance of Natsu and relief washed over her. She believed that somewhat Natsu will arrive to save them and she held on that hope for a long time now.

"Natsu…" Lucy whispered with tears on her eyes.

"LUCY!" Natsu screamed. He then looked at the twins who Wendy was checking over. They looked frightened but were smiling up at him even with tears on their eyes.

"They have been subjected to mental anguish. I need to heal them to repair the damage quickly," Wendy said while putting the twins to sleep as well with her magic.

"I'm guessing it's because of that girl in the kimono," Charle said.

"How cruel of them to hurt children," Happy said.

"It seems that they are really serious with their deal here if they even went as far as hurting kids," Lily added.

Natsu clenched his fists. Lucy's tear-stained face and the twins' sobbing frames flooded his thoughts.

"How dare you… You jerks have no idea what you've just done," Natsu said through gritted teeth.

"You hurt Lucy. You hurt my children. I'll never forgive you! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU! I'M GOING TO BURN YOU TO ASHES YOU BASTARDS!" Natsu shouted engulfing himself in deadly hot flames.

Loke excused himself after Erza and the others arrived.

"I leave them to you now. Those jerks cut off my magic, if I continue her any longer then Lucy will be placed in greater danger. I am still using her magic," Loke explained.

"I understand. We'll take it from here," Erza said.

Loke vanished and golden light fluttered from where he stood.

Midnight Fang just stood there and stared at Fairy Tail. They didn't even acknowledge Natsu's threat. Natsu was really, really pissed right now. He wasted no time and charged at them.

"Get the hell out of my way!" Natsu yelled. He directed a fiery fist on Kendric but Mathilda blocked his path and struck him down with her cane using the end with the blue orb on it to strike Natsu on the face.

Natsu doubled back and glared at Mathilda who vanished from in front of him.

"Where'd she go?" Natsu looked around and felt a presence behind him.

"Slow," Mathilda muttered. She kicked Natsu on the back and grabbed the back of his head to slam him on the ground behind him. Natsu hit the ground hard and stared up at Mathilda who was about to stab him with the pointed end of her cane but Erza deflected it with her sword. Mathilda doubled back and posed against Erza.

A sharp stabbing pain suddenly attacked Erza and Natsu. Yuuna had used her magic on them to weaken them and Mathilda took the chance to charge on both of them and pierce them with her cane.

"**Magic that negates all harmful effects – REZE!"**

Natsu and Erza were able to recover because of Wendy's magic and they both dodged Mathilda's attack.

"_**Requip"**_

Erza changed into her Flight Armor to match Mathilda's speed and paired it with her Benizakura.

"Natsu, go and save Lucy, I'll handle this woman," Erza shouted as she swung her sword to graze Mathilda's fringe.

"I'll take care of the girl with kimono Natsu-san, you go and save Lucy-san," Wendy said as she faced off with Yuuna.

"Thanks Erza, Wendy," Natsu said. He rushed to where Lucy was imprisoned but was blocked by Kendric.

"Looks like it will be the two of us who will be facing off again," Kendric said.

"I don't have time for you. Just stay out of the way before I bust your face in two," Natsu threatened.

"Took the words right out of my mouth," Kendric said. He pointed his flute to Natsu and orbs started to form around his flute.

"_**Fugue"**_

The orbs started attacking Natsu through random directions. Natsu flipped around to dodge the orbs. One of them hit him on the gut and it exploded which made him double back. Natsu gathered flames on his palms and threw a wave of flames to Kendric.

"**Crimson Lotus Exploding Flame"**

The attack launched towards Kendric but he played a short melody and blocked the attack with his flute. It absorbed his attack until it vanished and Kendric flicked his flute to Natsu.

"_**Quartet"**_

An omni-directional attack made its way to Natsu which he wasn't prepared for so he blocked it and accepted the damage it inflicted on him.

"Natsu!" Lucy shouted. She was getting worried for Natsu. No matter what attack he threw at him, it seems that the enemy always had a counter-attack for it.

Natsu dropped to his knees clutching his ribs.

_That attack, it deflected my magic back at me,_ Natsu thought after absorbing the blow.

"This guy… he's a tough nut," Natsu whispered.

"That attack from before, I think it absorbed Natsu's attack and returned the damage to him," Lily though out loud.

"These people are crazy strong," Charle commented.

"Natsu… do your best," Happy said worrying over his partner and friend. Kiryuu and Kayla stirred from their positions they looked around and saw three cats watching over the battles unfolding in front of them. Charle saw the twins move and get up.

"Wait you shouldn't move too much. Wendy just treated you," Charle reprimanded.

"What's happening?" Kayla asked.

"Where's our mother?" Kiryuu asked.

"Don't worry. We'll take care of it. You two should just rest," Lily reassured.

Kiryuu saw an explosion from not far away and saw Natsu come out from the smoke and charge at the silver-haired man who was guarding their mother trapped in an orb. On the other side, Erza was fighting off Mathilda while Wendy was battling it out with Yuuna.

* * *

"**Ice Make: Lance"**

Bree dodged the spike of ice that came her way and flicked Gray to the side using her telekinesis.

"Gray-sama! Why you," Juvia said in rage.

"**Water Slicer"**

This time Bree did not dodge but moved the water to ricochet back to Juvia. Juvia was knocked down by her own attack and Bree laughed at how pathetic the two looked.

"Unbelievable, There's two of you and you're not even landing a hit on me. Are you two seriously even trying? Hahahaha…" Bree insulted the two.

"Tch, with her kind of magic it's impossible to even try to get close to her to land a hit. We need a different plan," Gray said.

* * *

"Argh!"

Gajeel was knocked back for the nth time after an attack from Logan. He has been trying to land a hit on the guy for several times now but not a single hit has ever landed. Logan was masterfully using his ability to control the weather to screw up Gajeel's sense of smell and has been using either his daggers or a lightning attack to hit the Iron Dragon Slayer.

"Face it Fairy Dragon Slayer, you're never going to beat me. Give up and just die already, will 'ya?" Logan taunted.

"We'll see who's going down between the two of us punk. No way am I going to lose to some sissy hiding behind some smoke or whatever," Gajeel retorted.

A dagger flew past Gajeel's left eye which he barely dodged. He wouldn't admit it but the guy was a tough nut. He knows he has to think of a way to make the guy come out from his hiding spot.

* * *

"**Roar of the Sky Dragon"**

Wendy sent a direct hit to Yuuna but was surprised to see that the girl didn't even budge from where she was standing despite the hit that she received.

"How?"

Yuuna revealed a red fan with the guild mark of Midnight Fang embroidered to it. She raised it high and swished it down which sent sharp gusts of wind to whizz past Wendy. She was able to dodge the attack and deflected some of it but was still grazed by a couple of them on the left shoulder, right ankle and left elbow respectively.

"I already know that you amongst all others can par with my magic so instead of using it to you, I will be utilizing this weapon that I have been saving up for special fights. This is actually the first time in 18 years that I was forced to use it against an enemy," Yuuna said.

"I know you and your friends went through so many hardships already but this isn't the right thing. If you won't draw back then I will be forced to fight for my friend's sake," Wendy stated.

"Then so be it," Yuuna answered and swung her fan again to create razor-like whirlwinds.

* * *

The sound of metal clinking to another metal resounded in the forest. Mathilda and Erza have been separated from their group due to the intensity of their fights. Erza requipped again to her Fairy Armadura and lunge for Mathilda. Mathilda just stepped sideways to avoid Erza's sword from hitting her and she instantaneously countered with a left palm strike followed by a roundhouse kick.

Erza got hit and fell back. Never has she seen someone able to be as quick or even better than her in a combat.

"This is going nowhere, just surrender and retreat. Leave the villagers be," Erza demanded.

"You're in no position to bargain with me," Mathilda said and lunged towards Erza to deliver a one-two blow followed by a kick to the side.

Erza doubled over at how crazy powerful she is but just smiled. Mathilda got irked by Erza's smile and demanded to know what was so funny.

"That's because you don't have real friends. Our bonds with our nakama make us stronger while yours will reach limits once your goal has been achieved," Erza answered.

"That is why…" Erza uttered.

"…you people…" Gajeel said.

"…will never…" Gray stated.

"…win against us," Wendy finished.

"Because we're Fairy Tail and when we're fighting together we never lose!" Natsu yelled.

Lucy saw how determined Natsu was in saving her. She felt blessed. She had friends that were willing to risk their lives just to save her. Most importantly, she held on the hope that Natsu will save her and that they can be together with their children as a happy family.

"Natsu! Do your best. I know you can do it," Lucy cheered.

After hearing this, Natsu was invigorated and became more erratic in is attacks. His blows became more fierce and was unrelenting with the chain of attacks he was throwing at Kendric.

"Wait for me Lucy. I'll definitely win and save you," Natsu responded to Lucy's cheer.

And as if all their minds were linked, they all changed their stances and became more focused than before in their fights. They had a sharp look in their eyes before they muttered together, "Now, we will… COUNTER-ATTACK!"

* * *

**A/N: **chapter's done. Whew! Talk about pulling overworking. I actually did not sleep the whole time I was typing this chapter. Reviews for your comments guys, I'll be getting some sleep for the meantime and will update soon. Thanks.


	19. Chapter 19

**CHAPTER 19: Retaliation**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters just the OCs in this story.

* * *

**Ice Make: Lance!**

Dozens of ice shards went straight to Bree in top speed. She smirked and effortlessly dodged each one and uprooted a tree with her magic to send it flying to Gray. He dove sidewards evading the tree then did a follow up attack.

**Ice Make: Hammer**

Bree saw a shadow looming atop her and looked up to see a giant hammer of ice about to crush her. She raised a palm to it and it stopped mid-air. She sent the ice hammer flying back to Gray and instead of dodging he made a shield of ice to protect himself. Bree took this chance to go behind Gray and kick him on the side.

"You're wide open," Bree said as she menacingly smirked to deliver a fatal kick on Gray's head when she saw him smirk as well. Bree's eyes went wide and realized it was a trap but it was too late for her to escape because from the ground, water started to rise up to her and she was soon engulfed in it.

**Water Lock**

Juvia appeared from in front of her while maintaining the water prison where Bree is encased. Gray stood up and faced Bree as well thanking Juvia for the help who blushes profusely for being praised by Gray.

"Tch. You think this lump of water can stop me?" Bree said. She then started to use her magic to push the water away from her but Gray stopped her by freezing the outer part of the sphere.

"Don't think we haven't noticed but there's actually a weak point for your type of magic," Gray said smirking.

_This can't be!_ Bree screamed in her thoughts.

"Don't make me laugh! I don't have any weaknesses so don't compare me to yourselves," Bree said. She pushed the water further to draw it back but the outer ice won't budge.

"Give it up, you know you can't break that ice with your telekinesis. Even if you move the sphere to crash it to a tree or rock to break free, you'll just end up hurting yourself," Gray said.

"Then I'll just toss you both around until I break you!" Bree answered back.

"I won't let you! **Water Rampage!**" Juvia's water became erratic and spun in different directions creating multiple whirlpools.

_Shit! I can't concentrate my magic_ Bree thought. She tried concentrating on Gray and Juvia but because she was constantly being tossed around in the sphere, she found it hard to establish a target.

"You shouldn't have made light of Fairy Tail," Gray said as he clamped his fist on his palm.

**Ice Make: Halberd**

A large ice halberd erupted from the ground hitting the sphere where Bree was being tossed around, rising up to 30 feet from the ground while freezing the water inside and locking her in place. The sphere shattered and Bree fell to the ground. Her eyes only showed white and mouth agape.

"That takes care of that. We need to get to where the others are. Let's go Juvia," Gray said as he sprinted off with Juvia following him having hearts on her eyes and with a bounce on every step.

* * *

_This is a drag,_ Logan thought as he watched Gajeel barely dodge the daggers he sent his way and following it up with a lightning attack afterwards. He did a background check with him and found out that he is an Iron Dragon Slayer. He knows that he has enhanced senses and that iron or metallic weapons won't work for him so he prepared lacrima daggers that can pierce through the hardest type of metal.

"Sorry fairy dragon but I'm really getting bored of you so I'll finish you off already," Logan said through the mist that he encased Gajeel to.

"Try saying that to my face you coward. Instead of hiding from this mist why don't you try fighting me off head on or are you too afraid of what I can do to you? Gee hee," Gajeel taunted.

"You talk too much. Let me shut you up right now," Logan answered back. From above Gajeel, clouds started to form and he was half expecting to have dozens of lightning bolts raining down on him from the sky but instead shards of hail rained down hitting him spot on. Logan watched as Gajeel's silhouette from the mist was pierced by the hail and his form fell down from the ground.

The mist surrounding them suddenly vanished after the barrage of ice ended. Logan approached Gajeel's fallen form to check if he was still alive so he can deliver the final blow.

"You're tough but you're not someone who can take me down," Logan said. He turned around and was shocked to see Gajeel behind him, his face mere inches from him.

_What the – _

"Take this!"

Gajeel punched Logan and sent him flying to the opposite direction. He looked to where Gajeel was lying a few seconds ago and saw nothing there.

"How?" Logan asked. He looked around and saw no trace of Gajeel anywhere.

"Who's the weaker one now?" a voice from behind said.

Logan looked behind and saw a menacing Gajeel with shadows swirling around him. He kicked Logan and followed his flying form to grab his foot and slam him on the ground. Logan coughed up blood from the impact and lay still on the ground, one eye looking at Gajeel's form.

"Is t-that? Shadow Dragon Magic? I-impossible (cough) you're an Iron Dragon Slayer so how can yo-u have two different Dragon Slayin Ma-(cough)-magic at the same time?"

"I ate the flames from a Shadow Dragon Slayer a few years back. Looks like you didn't do your homework well. Those attacks from the mist, I pretended you were dominating but the truth is they weren't even hitting me at all gee hee," Gajeel said, "time to catch up with the others."

**Zero Point: Iron Shadow Dragon's Roar**

The attack hit Logan directly and he lay unconscious on the giant crater created from Gajeel's attack. He then looked at the hill where he felt malicious magic coming out and headed for that direction.

* * *

**Sky Dragon's Roar**

A funnel of wind headed straight to Yuuna but she didn't move her spot. Instead, she raised the fan she was holding and made a circle with it in front of her. It absorbed Wendy's attack and disappeared.

_Again?!_ Wendy thought.

"You're being too reckless," Yuuna said. She then waved her fan once and in an instant a funnel of black wind combined with razor sharp wind appeared and was directed at Wendy.

**Vernier!**

Wendy was able to swiftly dodge the attack and went to attack Yuuna from the left.

**Sky Dragon's Wing – **

_**Trip**_

Yuuna interrupted Wendy's attack and she fell face first on the ground.

"I may not be able to use my magic to harm you but that doesn't mean that I can't entirely use it on you," said Yuuna.

Wendy got up with a determined look on her eyes.

"I can't let my friends down. I need to stop you from killing one of us so I will definitely win against you," Wendy said.

She then formed a barrier of wind around her and Yuuna.

_A wind barrier?_ Yuuna thought.

"This is futile. I'll just brush your wind aside with my fan and it will disappear in an instant," Yuuna said and she raised her fan to scatter the wind around her. When she waved it down, the wind barrier cancelled out her black wind.

"How?" Yuuna asked in bewilderment.

**Secret Dragon Slayer Art!**

Yuuna turned wide eyes on Wendy. She raised an attack on Wendy sending a dark funnel of razor wind to stop Wendy's attack.

"You can't counter me now while you're using another attack," Yuuna said.

_**Pain!**_

Wendy felt a surge of pain in her body but she endured it. Yuuna forced more of her magic to incapacitate Wendy and the dark wind is just about to hit Wendy when she unleashed a powerful gust of wind and light that shattered Yuuna's dark wind.

**Light Burst: Sky Drill!**

Yuuna was surprised her magic was overcome and she tried to absorb the attack using her fan but it was too powerful and the fan broke making the attack hit her directly and absorb all damage. She fell on the ground unmoving and Wendy collapsed on her knees.

"I'm sorry to hurt you but I have to protect my friends. I need to go now," Wendy murmured and rose up to return to Natsu and Erza.

* * *

Clashes from a sword and a cane were heard throughout the forest. Erza has been separated from Natsu and Wendy moments earlier after fighting off Mathilda. She swung her sword at Mathilda but she dodged and landed a kick on Erza's right side.

Erza jumped back and Mathilda followed after her swinging her cane to slam the end orb on top of it to Erza's face but she managed to dodge the attack and jumped back again to avoid the oncoming kick from Mathilda.

**Requip!**

Erza changed her Flight Armor to Black Wing Armor and charged at Mathilda.

**Black Wing Moon Gleam**

Mathilda did a triple back flip and jumped above Erza to stab her with the tip of her cane but Erza managed to deflect the cane which was sent flying behind Mathilda to land on the ground. Erza took this chance to swing her sword at her but she manoeuvred in mid-air and with each hand on Erza's shoulders, she flipped Erza to slam on a tree making her revert back to her normal armor.

_That hit was not that strong but it felt like I got hit by a boulder. Is she that strong?_ Erza thought.

"Don't waste my time Titania. Hurry up and die," Mathilda emotionlessly said. She went to her cane and picked it off from the ground and walked casually towards Erza.

Erza stood up and changed to her Fire Empress Armor and charged at Mathilda. She swung her sword to hit Mathilda on her left arm and she followed it up with a reverse roundhouse kick knowing that Mathilda will dodge her sword. She hit her on her chest but Mathilda didn't look like she was hurt and landed a punch on Erza's gut which made Erza fall to her knees. The hit felt like a giant punched her and Mathilda raised her foot to land a drop kick on Erza effectively pinning her to the ground face first.

"No matter how strong you deliver your blows it won't work on me Titania. My magic renders the force of your attack useless against me. I possess Force Magic. It allows me to minimize or maximize the amount of force applied on an attack. Even if I flick my finger on your forehead, once the force is raised to a 100 times then it will be enough to break it, but even if you attack me with your strongest blow, if I minimize the force it will only feel as if you were tickling me," Mathilda explained.

She flipped Erza over and beat her with her cane to placate her before she raised it and aimed the tip to Erza's chest.

"No matter what armor you wear, I'll simply break through it to end you," Mathilda said and she sent it down to drive it past her chest but stopped when Erza changed armor and blocked the attack.

"What is this?" Mathilda asked as she got thrown back by a blow from Erza. She had s good look on her and her eyes widened in realization.

"T-that's… the Armor of Nakagami!" she exclaimed as she saw Erza standing high and proud wearing it.

"For the sake of my friends, I will cleanse you of your evil," Erza said as she charged towards Mathilda.

"Useless," Mathilda said as she swung her cane to throw a strong force of air from her swing towards Erza but was nullified when Erza brushed it off. Mathilda grew desperate as she threw countless of them to Erza which didn't seem to faze the redhead.

"Take this!" Erza wailed as she swung her sword to Mathilda. She tried to block it with her cane but it broke and she stood still for a moment before she fell down slowly.

"I-I lo-lost," Mathilda said and fell down defeated.

Erza returned to her normal armor and went back to where Natsu was.

* * *

"Natsu watch out!" Happy exclaimed as the battle between Natsu and Kendric continued.

Natsu has been barely able to get close to Kendric to land a hit while him on the other hand, continues to receive a beating from Kendric. Kendric played a quick melody and swung his flute towards Natsu.

**Dark Capriccio**

Dark orbs started to fly towards Natsu at a rapid speed and he dodged them but the orbs followed him wherever he went.

_They're homing_…_!_ Natsu thought as he dodged each orb. Unfortunately, he missed a step and an orb landed a hit on him. It exploded and he was thrown back while the other orbs followed him and each exploded on his body.

"Argh!"

"Natsu!" Happy screamed. lucy watched in horror as he was being pummelled by more orbs and simply lay limply on the ground.

"Natsu! Hang in there! Natsu!" Lucy called out. She was crying this whole time and she wanted to help him fight. If only she wasn't locked up inside an orb.

"The moon is about to show itself. It's about time we proceeded with the sacrifice," Kendric declared. He approached Lucy's orb and activated the magic circle to siphon her power and sychronize it with the keys. She screamed feeling the magic being forcibly taken out of her body.

"Mommy!" the twins yelled in unison.

Happy and Lily charged at Kendric but he blew them away with his magic and they, together with Charle who got caught in the attack while protecting the twins, lay limply on the ground. With no one left to protect them, Kendric slowly neared the twins to subdue them again. Kiryuu stood up to protect her sister who was crying behind him.

"S-stay a-a-away fro-m them, argh," Lucy begged, fighting off the pain in her body.

"Someone help us, please," Kayla cried while closing her eyes praying for someone to save them. Kiryuu stood shakily acting brave enough to protect her sister.

"Get back from us!" Kiryuu yelled.

"WAIT!" Natsu yelled. He staggered to get back up and charged at Kendric. He swung a fist in his direction but missed his shot and he was kneed in the gut before he was kicked sending him a few feet back. Kendric went over to Natsu and attacked him some more.

**Staccato**

Continuous shots of compressed air bombs attacked Natsu and with each explosion, they multiplied and rained down on him. He was laying on the ground being bombarded by Kendric's magic while Lucy watched with horror and pain in her eyes. She was slowly feeling weak but seeing Natsu getting beat up was pain her heart and she cried not for her sake but for Natsu.

"N-Natsu," Lucy murmured.

The twins watched and begged for Kendric to stop but the attacks were unrelenting and it was smothering Natsu to the ground.

"Leave him alone! Stop it!" Kiryuu begged.

"Please stop hurting him!" Kayla pleaded.

They both cried seeing their parents being hurt.

Natus saw in slow motion how Lucy cried for him despite the fact that any moment now, she might die from the hands of the enemy. Then he glanced at the twins and saw them crying as well.

_How pathetic am I? I can't even protect my own family,_ Natsu thought. He was bitterly laughing at himself thinking that he was going to die a weakling and a coward in front of the people he wants to protect. The ones he love.

"Please… stop…" Kiryuu said.

"Stop…" Kayla whispered.

"STOP HURTING OUR DAD!" the twins shouted out in unison.

Natsu heard the twins and his eyes shot open. He exploded in flames and cancelled out Kendric's magic. Kendric was momentarily blinded by Natsu's flames and he was suddenly punched hard in the face.

He flew back and flipped over to land on his feet. From the flames, Natsu emerged activating Dragon Force in the process.

"You will regret making my family cry; I'm going to burn you to the ground bastard!" Natsu roared. Kendric saw Natsu as how he would see a real dragon would roar. He felt shaken for a bit and braced himself to go all out on his enemy.

"Here I go!" Natsu said as he charged toward Kendric and the latter raised his flute to defend. They clashed and an explosion erupted covering them both in smoke. Lucy continued to watch and she hoped for Natsu to win while looking in front of her and seeing a door appear in front of her with the chains being lopped off bit by bit.

_I-is that the G-gate of Utopia-!_ Lucy thought trembling in fear for what could happen next.

"Natsu, please hurry up and beat him before it's too late," Lucy whispered.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **That ends this chapter. I hope I didn't confuse anyone with the fight scenes in this chapter. This is the first time I'm writing this sort of stuff so I am kind of nervous as to how it will turn out. I'm sorry for those who got confused on the previous chapters, my bad. Leave your comments in my reviews and thank you for supporting the story.


	20. Chapter 20

**CHAPTER 20: End Game**

**Author's Notes: **Sorry for being unable to update for 2 weeks. I have been having writer's block last week and I can't really think straight so I took a break, work's also been stressing me out as well. Anyway, this just about the end of this story so it's quite longer than the rest. I want to thank everyone who's been supporting me and this story. I will be making another FT fic but I still can't decide what pairing it will be. I'm still using Lucy as the leading female role but I can't decide between Natsu, Gray or Sting for the male counterpart. What do you guys think?

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters, just the OCs.

* * *

_**Moments before Team Natsu executed their counter-attack**_

"I'm afraid we might be too late," Master Makarov stated.

He, together with the other Fairy Tail mages, arrived at Lazuli Village to find it covered in a barrier that Jellal and the others are trying to break. He went ahead and sent Jet to scan the perimeter of the barrier and report any fluctuating point on the barrier that they can easily break through. Meanwhile, Jellal and the others were focused on bringing down the barrier to allow them to help the ones fighting inside.

"How's it going?" Cana asked Ultear.

"It's no use, it seems that the barrier strengthened as soon as we allowed the others a way in earlier," Ultear explained.

A cloud of smoke came rushing in from the left and halted just in front of Master Makarov who was contemplating on something. It revealed Jet who was now panting from exhaustion.

"What did you find?" Master asked dead serious.

"The barrier covers the entire village and I didn't see any weak point from the outside," Jet replied.

"Then I guess –

A large spike of ice protruded from within the barrier and extended just above the trees from the outer forest of the village.

"That could be Gray!" Levy exclaimed. The ice shattered and disappeared from sight.

"Only a Gray can be a Man that can do that," Elfman added.

_Wait! Did it just – _Jellal said in his thoughts, surprise evident in his face. Master noticed this and looked at him.

"Jellal, Ul, did you just feel that?" Meldy asked. The two of them nodded.

"What is it?" Master Makarov asked.

"The barrier. It weakened significantly for some reason," Jellal said. An explosion erupted not too far away and again the barrier weakened some more.

"I see, so that's how it was," Jellal said realizing just now how the barrier weakened.

"It's a body link barrier," Master Makarov realized.

"Body Link Barrier?" Romeo asked.

"It's a barrier made of magic that is linked to its creator. The more people linked to the barrier, the stronger it gets. When the people linked to the barrier lose their connection from the barrier then it is weakened," Master explained.

"Then those attacks earlier… does it mean that they managed to beat off those guys?" Droy asked.

"Yes, but the barrier still stands so probably there are still some of them left," Master answered.

"If they can continue to weaken the barrier then we may as well be able to break it from outside. Just hang on for a moment and once we are able to completely break it then we can help them save Lucy," Jellal said.

"We're counting on you," Master said. Jellal nodded and went back to purging the magic on the barrier.

_Lu-chan… _Levy thought hoping for her best friend's safety while staring at the darkness forming from the skies signalling a storm coming in.

* * *

**Dark Capriccio**

Homing orbs of sound waves rushed forward to Natsu but instead of dodging he lunged forward to crush them by force.

**Wing Slash of the Fire Dragon**

The orbs exploded and Natsu continued to tread forward and punch Kendric with a flaming right hook. Kendric bent down and pointed his flute to Natsu's stomach.

**Fugue**

Multiple orbs shot Natsu repetitively to his stomach sending him back but he regained footing and rushed Kendric landing a powerful punch to his stomach which made him cough up blood. Kendric jumped back clutching his stomach and glaring at Natsu.

"Enough playing games. It's time I end this," Kendric said. He raised his flute and dark magic emanated from it. Natsu braced himself for an attack but Kendric smirked and threw the magic to Lucy.

"AAAARRRGH!" Lucy screamed as she got hit by the dark magic. Her prison orb sparked with dark magic that connected to a large gate that suddenly appeared in front of them.

"What's that thing?" Happy asked.

"I think that's the gate of Utopia," Charle answered.

"MOMMY!" Kayla shouted.

"Dad save Mommy," Kiryuu yelled.

"BASTARD!" Natsu screamed rushing towards Kendric who got punched on the gut hard.

"You! What did you do to Lucy?!" Natsu questioned. Kendric just laughed to mock Natsu which pissed the dragon slayer off so he beath the crap out of him out of pure rage. Kendric kneeled on the ground coughing up blood from the beating he took from Natsu. Natsu was panting heavily and glaring daggers at him. He left the beaten guy and rushed towards Lucy to free her from the orb but the magic that covered the orb struck him and threw him back a few steps back.

"It's no use," Kendric said, "I have activated the siphoning magic needed to extract that girl's magic from her body. It will open the lock on the gate that you are seeing and we will soon taint it with dark magic to curse this land. This is the end Salamander."

Natsu grit his teeth in anger and continued to try to free Lucy from inside. He could hear Lucy's pained screams echoing from the orb. He tried punching it repeatedly to break it and free Lucy.

"Hold on Luce, I'll save you, I promise I'll protect you so don't die on me," Natsu said while vigorously attacking the orb ignoring the sparks of dark magic that continued to harm his body. Kendric took the chance to stand menacingly behind Natsu and focused his magic on his flute to land a fatal blow.

"Natsu watch out!" Happy warned.

"Behind you," Lily shouted.

"Too late," Kendric snickered and directed his attack to Natsu.

**Rhapsody**

Natsu looked back to see the same magic that almost finished him off before. He was thinking of dodging but decided against it worrying about Lucy taking the blow if he did so he braced himself for the attack and threw a premature counter attack.

_It's too strong! My flames can't destroy it_, Natsu thought and braced for the impact.

The twins looked in horror as their dad was about to get hit by the attack when Kiryuu wailed out, "NOOOO!"

Suddenly, Natsu's flames which were about to disappear intensified and engulfed the entire attack from Kendric. It spun like a whirl pool to protect Natsu and Lucy and devoured the entire attack before disappearing. Natsu's eyes were wide in shock and even he didn't understand what happened.

"W-what just happened - ?" Happy asked.

"Natsu was that you?" Lily asked.

"It wasn't me," Natsu said.

"Don't tell me - !" Charle said and suddenly looked at Kiryuu who had his eyes wide in shock.

"Ryuu-nii, did you - ?" Kayla asked.

"I-I'm not… I don't know…" Kiryuu said.

_The kid, I sensed magic from him. It looks like their magic is slowly being triggered_, Kendric thought.

"So you have Pyrokinesis after all. As expected from the son of a Dragon Slayer," Kendric said making his advance to the twins.

"Stop right there! I'm your opponent so fight me!" Natsu said and was about to make his way to them but Kendric turned his gaze to Lucy and it flashed red before Lucy was entirely engulfed in black magic. She screamed from the pain that it was emitting on her body and Natsu had to turn back to Lucy.

"Lucy! Hang in there!" Natsu said, "Damn you!"

Natsu cursed through gritted teeth and turned angry eyes at Kendric.

"What's the matter Salamander? Can't protect them all at once? You can only save one of them so choose who lives and who dies though you have to worry because once the Gate of Utopia is opened then the blonde mage you are trying to save will be nothing more but a lifeless corpse," Kendric taunted.

"Natsu the gate!" Charle pointed out. They all looked and saw that the gate was halfway through already and Lucy was already collapsed inside he orb while panting raggedly.

"Don't worry Natsu we'll hold him off," Lily said turning to his huge self while Happy took a thick bark of wood to use as his weapon.

"Focus on saving Lucy. We'll try to stop him Natsu," Happy said.

"But –"

"No buts Natsu! Do you want Lucy to die and see your children be sad?" Happy asked.

Natsu looked at the twins and saw the fear in their eyes. He wanted to shield them from danger but if he did then Lucy will die. The battle between Kendric and Lily started and was already a bit one-sided. Natsu was hurrying to break open the orb Lucy was encased when he heard Lucy mumble something.

"…save…them…"

"Lucy! Are you alright? Hang on I'll get you out of there –

"…forget about…me…save the twins…" Lucy pleaded

"I can't leave you behind. I can't let you die," Natsu was half sobbing already and continued breaking open the orb. Lucy smiled warmly at him and said, "I know… I trust that you'll save me (pant) but the twins…(pant) they…need you…"

"How can you smile like that? You're just about half dead already," Natsu scolded. His tears fell at this point and he was still trying to release Lucy from this thing that was sucking away her life. A scream tore from behind and Natsu saw that Lily and Happy was already defeated. Charle stood to cut between the twins and Kendric and was telling the twins to run away. Natsu felt torn. He didn't know what to do.

"Natsu (pant) I trust you… so please (pant) save our children (pant)"

Natsu bit his lip and closed his eyes. He couldn't do this. If only he was stronger…he wouldn't have to choose who to abandon and just save both but the circumstances were different now.

_Someone save us!_ Kayla thought in prayer.

He dashed towards Kendric to stop his advance but was surprised when out of nowhere a golden shield appeared in front of Kayla enveloping the three with golden light.

_What the - ?_ Kendric thought. He pressed forward and struck it with his flute to destroy it only to be deflected back and away from them.

"Kayla how did you?" Kiryuu asked.

"I don't know… I just hoped that someone would save us and then…" Kayla replied.

**Staccato**

Orbs of compressed sound waves made their way towards the twins but was successfully blocked by the shield. A spear suddenly appeared from above almost striking Kendric down if he didn't dodge in time.

"Who's there?!" Kendric irritatedly asked. Everyone was hopefully wishing it must have been Erza but were proven wrong when they saw a woman with wings dressed in white silk dress with metal plates that serve as her armor. Her hair was blonde and went as far down her waist in a braid. She went down and landed in front of the twins and the shield and spear went back to each of her hands.

"Who can that be?" Charle asked.

"I-I remember her! She's a character from one of my books. She's a Valkyrie," Kayla said. She has been reading a lot of books as spare time and memorized every character from the books she has read.

"You're in my way!" Kendric said and swung another note towards them but was easily deflected by Valkyrie.

"Valkyrie, please help us defeat him," Kayla pleaded.

"As you wish," Valkyrie answered. She advanced and clashed her spear with Kendric's flute. This gave Natsu time to go back and release Lucy.

"I get it now. You have Invoke Magic, almost the same as Lucy's but instead you call upon ancient beings instead of spirits," Charle explained.

"That's cool Kayla!" Kiryuu said.

"Ryuu-nii we both have magic after all," Kayla squealed in delight.

"This is no time to giggle around. We need to get the two of you out of here," Charle said.

"I have no time to play around," Kendric said. He jumped up and pointed his flute down where he enveloped them in a dark sphere.

**Elegy**

The darkness that covered them knocked them all out and now they were all grounded to stop them from moving.

"I've exhausted the magic from every one of you. Now just stay still as I kill you off one by one," Kendric said after landing on his feet.

_Damn it! Is this as far as I can go?_ Natsu thought bitterly.

"Stop right there!"

Everyone looked at the owner of the voice and saw Erza along with the rest of the guild.

"Everyone!" Happy said.

"Geez flame head you couldn't even handle this guy alone?" Gray smirked as he said this.

"Looks like you're not very dependable Salamander," Gajeel added.

"The rest of you, free those villagers and bring them somewhere safe," Master ordered.

The guild moved as they were told except for Wendy who went to the twins with Mira to take them away from the battlefield.

"Looks like the barrier didn't hold out for long," Kendric whispered.

"Surrender now. You're too outmatched," Erza commanded while wielding her sword in front.

"I wouldn't be certain of that," Kendric grinned and a loud scream was suddenly heard. They whipped their heads to the source and saw Lucy now on her knees.

"This is bad! Her body is almost running out of magic," Master Makarov stated, "Everyone get Lucy out of there now!"

Erza, Gray and Gajeel ran forth to free Lucy while Natsu was struggling to stand up determined to set her free when they suddenly felt being pummelled back. From the shadows emerged the rest of Midnight Fang, all beaten up but were still on their feet.

"What the hell! We knocked those guys up already didn't we?" Gray said in irritation.

"W-we can't-t lose until we see the w-w-world suff-er like we did-d," Bree answered.

A strong pulse of magic suddenly erupted and they all saw the Gate of Utopia fully open now. The orb encasing Lucy was now gone and she fell limp on the ground.

"LUCY!" Natsu yelled running beside Lucy and stumbling every now and then due to exhaustion. He looked at Lucy's face and slapped her a few times to wake her up but to no avail.

_No…no no no no no no no!_ Natsu screamed in his thoughts. He immediately searched for Wendy who was already running towards them to check Lucy.

"You! How dare you –" Erza muttered full of wrath. She was gripping her sword hard turning her knuckles white.

"The time has come Fairy Tail. Now we will drench this world in darkness and bring suffering to all of you," Kendric announced. Dark magic circles appeared in front of each Midnight Fang members' chests.

"What are those?" Gray asked looking at the magic circles that appeared.

"The gate still flows with good magic to bless the land but that is all going to change now. Originally, we planned to have those kids or the villagers as sacrifices to taint evil to this gate but because of your meddling we can't do that anymore. We need sacrifices that harbour deep rooted sorrow, grief, fear, pain, anger and suffering in their hearts," Kendric explained.

"As a back up plan, you will be using yourselves as sacrifices," Master Makarov added as a statement instead of a question.

"Very perceptive of you old man," Logan said.

"But why?! To go to these lengths just to kill yourselves in the end? You hurt a lot of people and even yourselves but you still want to push through your plan? I don't get it," Wendy said while trying to control her sobs.

"You wouldn't understand. We suffered throughout the years. We grew up watching our family and friends being slaughtered like game just because you feared our power. We were forced to hide and live everyday with fear. This is our just revenge for everyone who made us feel like we didn't deserve to live," Yuuna answered back.

"That's total bull! This plan you're hatching is not just going to affect those people but everyone in this world. Don't you understand?!" Gray reprimanded.

Kendric chuckled at this.

"Are you feeling sorry for us? We don't need it but before anything else I want to thank your blonde friend there for opening the gate for us. She was at least useful before she dies," Kendric said.

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Natsu yelled. He was cradling Lucy's head the entire time.

"I don't need to hear anything out of you. I don't care if you want to die but why did you have to tag Lucy along with your fucked up plan?" Natsu asked while biting his lip to stop his crying. A soft hand snaked its way up Natsu's cheeks and he was surprised to see the blonde owner of that hand smiling up at him.

"Natsu…thank God you're okay…" Lucy weakly said. Natsu took her hand and kissed it a couple of times. Wendy went ahead to heal her but stopped as soon as she touched her other free hand.

_She's at her limit!_ Wendy thought covering her mouth with both hands to stop herself from crying out in sorrow. She could only cry and watch at the scene of two of her closest friends as they seem to be saying goodbye at each other.

"Lucy… you're fine now, you're safe. Wendy will heal you, right Wendy?" Natsu asked as he raised his head ignoring the tears that cascaded down his eyes. He only saw Wendy as she cried covering her mouth and shaking her head from side to side. Natsu got the message but he didn't want to believe it.

"Natsu… It's okay I just wanted to tell you before I go –

"Shut up! You're not going anywhere you hear me?! I'll bring you to Poluchka or whoever that can heal you. I won't allow you to leave me behind again," Natsu said.

"Natsu… I don't have enough time so I'll just say it… I love you and our children, don't forget that, please. Tell them I'm sorry if I was unable to protect them. Please take good care of them for me. Tell them I love them both… I love you Natsu, I always have," Lucy said as she smiled one last time. This smile was the brightest one she has given Natsu and he felt warm receiving that smile but at the same time sorrow gripped his heart seeing that smile.

"I promise I will and I love you too," Natsu said with a bittersweet smile on his face before he pressed his lips to Lucy's and all their emotions collided in that kiss. Lucy's hands that were resting on Natsu's cheek as they kissed went limp and fell to her sides. Natsu's eyes widened feeling Lucy's lifeless body and separated himself from her as he stared with wide tear-stained eyes at her.

Erza had her face drenched in tears as well while Gray hid his eyes under his bangs as he too cried for losing one of their closest friends. Everyone felt the last bit of magic leave Lucy's body and they all cried knowing they were already too late. The keys of the spirits that were in contract with Lucy slowly disappeared in brilliant dusts of gold and silver dancing around her body as if saying a last goodbye to their master and friend.

"The link is now broken. Now embrace the darkness that will follow you everywhere," Kendric said. Everyone turned their heads to the unmoving dark mages who were the cause of it all. Erza and the rest were about to strike them down but the magic circles on their chests suddenly exploded and took them by surprise.

As soon as they exploded, dark auras started to emanate from their bodies and went inside the gate. The once brilliant gate of gold turned black and dark magic swirled from the surrounding area.

"The sky… it's rumbling with dark magic…" Wendy stated.

"This is bad. Everyone get away from here," Master ordered.

"Master! What's that?" Mira asked. From inside the gate, monsters started to come out and all looked like pretty strong ones compared to the ones that they have faced before.

"Natsu! Wendy! Get out of there!" Erza shouted as they were too close to the gate. Wendy got up and started to run back to Erza but stopped when she noticed Natsu didn't follow.

A monster that looked like a giant Minotaur came out the gate and was looking at Natsu who was on his knees on the ground and cradling a blond head. The monster raised a giant hoof and was going to stomp at him.

"Natsu-san look out!" Wendy warned.

The hoof was about to crush him but Natsu quickly got up fiercely punched the Minotaur making it fall down unconscious on the ground.

"I'm not leaving Lucy here. I will keep my promise and protect the kids by closing this goddamned gate that took my heart away!" Natsu said. He then took out the monsters that were clawing their way out of the gate but they were too many and some were able to escape from him.

Master, Erza, Mira, Gray, Gajeel, Crime Sorciere, and the Raijinshuu were battling the monsters head on while the rest of the guild was focused on evacuating the civilians from the carnage.

Wendy and Levy took Lucy's body away and rested it underneath a tree where the twins and the exceeds were. Luckily the twins were unconscious because of Kendric's attack earlier but they were worried as to how they will react once they wake up and see their mom has died.

Happy was already sobbing on Lucy's still form and so were Levy and Wendy but they were focused on protecting them from harm while Master and the rest try to close down the Gate of Utopia. Juvia also stayed behind to protect Lucy and the twins as best she could.

A fiery punch sent a black gryphon down and knocked out while a giant snake lunged towards Natsu but was burned when he unleashed a Fire Dragon's roar.

_I promise to protect them Luce. No one has to die anymore…_ Natsu said in thought.

A warm breeze blew making the tree sway its leaves. A blonde head was resting on a woman's lap as that woman stroked the hair of the sleeping figure on her lap.

_What's this nostalgic feeling?_ The blonde said in her thoughts. Then she heard voices…familiar voices talking.

* * *

"Has she woken up yet?" a gruff voice of a man asked.

"Not yet, but she'll come around any moment now," a silky soft voice said. Judging from the quality of its sweet voice, she guessed it was a woman.

The blonde opened her eyes and was momentarily blinded by the harsh light of the sun. She blinked a couple of times to adjust her sight and focus on the faces above her. She gasped at the faces that she saw that she thought she will never see again.

"Mama, Papa," the blonde uttered. The words feeling foreign on her toungue but at the same time so familiar.

"How are you, Lucy-chan?" Layla asked.

"It's been a long time princess," Jude said.

Lucy immediately hugged her two parents and cried like a little girl after seeing them.

"I've missed you a lot. I thought I'll never see you guys again," Lucy said.

"Well we can't really say that we're happy to see you here though," Layla said with a smile.

"Huh?" Lucy asked feeling sad that her parents didn't like to see her.

"Don't take it the wrong way Lucy but your mother and I are happy to see you. It's just that we didn't expect to see you _here_ this early," Jude stated.

At first Lucy looked dumbfounded not understanding what her parents were trying to say until it dawned on her.

_Right, my parents are __**dead**__ already. Does it mean I'm dead too?_ Lucy thought.

Layla chuckled at seeing her daughter's face flash so many random emotions while thinking things through.

"You really haven't changed Lucy-chan," Layla said.

"Eh? What do you mean Mama?" Lucy said while blushing a bit, feeling stupid at asking her mother that question.

"Oh nothing dear, you're still as cute as you were when you were little," Layla said making Lucy blush at the comment.

"Lucy we don't really have that much time here with you. Your mother and I came here to stop you from crossing over completely," Jude said.

"I don't understand. I'm dead already aren't i?" Lucy asked.

"Not entirely. You're still just about to cross over and your mother and I decided to stop you," Jude said.

"Lucy-chan, you've already grown into a fine lady. You have your family now that you have to look after for," Layla said, "I regretted to leave you when you were younger, you know. I had thought you will hate me as your mother because I died too early and wasn't there to see you grow to this fine woman I'm talking to now."

"And I have been a bad father to you for years. If you didn't change me back then then I might have been beaten up by your mother here after I left my death bed," Jude said earning an elbow from Layla.

"No, you were both wonderful parents. I know you loved me both and that's why I also love you two," Lucy said.

"And both your father and I know that you are a great mother as well. That is why you should return to your family," Layla smiled as she said this.

"Mama… I don't think I can be a better mother than you are," Lucy humbly said.

"Oh nonsense. You can surpass me as a good mother," Layla said as she approached Lucy and gave her a hug, "Now you should go back to your family."

Now it was Jude who gave a hug to Lucy, "Take care of yourself princess."

"Thank you Papa," Lucy said.

"You should hurry now Lucy-chan. By the way, say hello to our grandchildren and that cute father of theirs," Layla said as she gave a playful wink to Lucy.

"Oh Mama," Lucy said as she blushed deeply from her Mom's teasing.

"Before I forget Lucy, do you remember the song that I always sang when you were little?" Layla asked.

"Um…yes. Why did you - ?" Lucy didn't get to finish her question when her mother spoke up.

"It's a spell that can save yours and your friends' future. And remember that your _friends_ will always come to you when you need them," Layla said putting emphasis on the word 'friends.' Lucy didn't really understand what her mother was trying to say but her thoughts were cut short when her father spoke up.

"Goodbye princess," Jude said while smiling at her daughter.

"Goodbye Lucy-chan," Layla also said with a smile.

"We love you," both parents said.

"Goodbye Mama, Papa. I love you too," Lucy said with the brightest smile she can show her parents. A warm breeze blew on her face and she closed her eyes slowly letting her vision turn black. She was then aware of lying down on the ground while being pinned by two small weights on either side of her. She also felt her top being wet from something she was not sure of.

_Could it be rain?_ Lucy thought.

She could then hear sobs and a couple of explosions hear and there.

_Wait, could it be tears? And why does it sound like a warzone?_ Lucy opened her eyes and saw two children crying on her. She started remembering what was going on. The children noticed her stirring and their once crying faces showed a hint of smiles and tackled Lucy on the ground.

* * *

A large lion with a tail of a scorpion was battling Natsu. Because of his numerous injuries, exhaustion started to catch up to him and he didn't have enough strength to evade the oncoming attack from the monster.

Before the tail struck Natsu, Erza finished the monster with her attack and did a follow up lightning attack on a few more monsters who were about to ambush Natsu from behind.

"Are you okay Natsu?" Erza asked.

"Y-yes, thank you Erza," Natsu said.

"Sit this one out Natsu. You're too injured already," Erza said.

"But-

"No buts! Just rest for a while. Lucy woudn't be happy to see you killing yourself. If something happens to you, who will be left to take care of the twins?" Erza hit a nerve from saying that and Natsu looked down and defeated.

Just then they heard gasps coming from where the twins were. Levy and Wendy were bawling their eyes out again as they saw their blonde mage sit up again and full of life.

"Impossible," Erza said in disbelief.

"Lucy… you're alive," Natsu couldn't help but cry for happiness. He stood up on wobbly legs and walked straight to Lucy until his walks became strides then finally ran to Lucy and crushed her in a hug.

The guild members who were there could only give a smile or a snicker as they saw Lucy come back from the dead.

"Don't ever leave me like that again," Natsu whispered on Lucy's ears while tightening his hug on her. Lucy returned the hug despite being crushed by Natsu's arms.

"I'm sorry," Lucy said as she buried her head to revel on Natsu's warmth and scent.

Kiryuu and Kayla joined in the hug and bawled their eyes out. Natsu and Lucy looked warmly at their children and they hugged them back to stop them from crying.

"Mommy I thought you were already dead," Kayla said while sniffing.

"When we woke up you were not breathing. We thought you left us already," Kiryuu added as he rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand.

"I'm sorry for making you sad. I'll never leave you again," Lucy said as she kissed each of their foreheads.

Natsu smiled at the sight before him. He was happy to have his mate back with him and to have them all together safe and sound. He felt a warm pulsing magic spread on his body and he saw Wendy starting to heal him.

"Don't move Natsu-san. I need to heal your injuries. There's quite a lot so I suggest you stay still," Wendy said beaming down on him and sending a warm smile to Lucy before uttering a 'welcome back.'

Lucy looked around her and saw that the place was already a warzone. Monsters littered around and they seem to be multiplying and coming out from the gate. Levy set up runes around them as protection but judging by the number of monsters and the intensity of the dark magic coming from the gate, she began to worry for the safety of her friends and of course her family.

_If only we could close that gate,_ Lucy thought then she remembered what her mother told her.

"_**It's a spell that can save yours and your friends' future. And remember that your friends will always come to you when you need them,"**_

"That's it!" Lucy said out loud. She started to become restless trying to look for something.

"Lucy-san, what's wrong?" Wendy asked.

"My keys. Where are my keys?" Lucy asked.

"They vanished when you died Lu-chan. Maybe because your contract with them ended as soon as you died. I'm sorry," Levy answered.

"No way… I thought I could close the gate using them. I mean I was able to open it using my keys so I thought we could do the same to close it," Lucy said sadly.

"But you died doing it in the process. I won't let you do anything rash again Luce. You might die trying to close it again and we might not be able to get you back after," Natsu said in a panic. He couldn't take the risk of losing Lucy again. Heck he lost her to death twice already, losing her for the third time would make him look much more pathetic than he is already, "Just let Gramps and the rest do this."

_There has to be a way… That's right the song!_ Lucy remembered and started to recall her mother's song which she heard from her every night.

_**Heaven's gift, come bless the land**_

_**Earth accepts your helping hand**_

_**Greet me with your laughter**_

_**For never shall I falter**_

Lucy started to glow a soft, golden light as she walked outside of the runes.

_**Stars above I sing to you**_

_**Dance along the harmonious tune**_

_**Let me witness a rain of gold**_

_**To brighten the path that I must tread**_

A golden magic circle formed beneath Lucy and followed her every movement. The monsters felt a disturbance and turned towards Lucy.

"Lucy stop! You'll get hurt Natsu shouted and was about to run to her but his injuries were too much and his body was at his limits so he fell down on one knee. Lucy glanced at him and gave a smile to try to reassure him that everything is fine.

_**The path I choose to walk that's right**_

_**Where darkness will succumb to light**_

_**Golden chains that covet me**_

_**Converged to one, descend and be free!**_

From the skies, the stars shone fiercely and showered down to strike the monsters cutting their numbers to half. Twelve golden symbols appeared around Lucy followed by scattered silver symbols in the area.

One by one they took form and the 88 stellar spirits were present in the battlefield.

"Please, help me close the gate and cleanse it from dark magic," Lucy said as she continued to fiercely glow in gold. The spirits each scattered in multi-directional paths and went passing through each monster in the field making them disappear.

The twelve zodiac spirits went directly to the Gate of Utopia and closed it while forming chains of gold to seal its magic away. The gate darkened due to the magic that defiled it but as soon as the twelve golden chains surrounded it and converged in the center to form a lock, the gate returned to its original form and disappeared from sight.

"Lu-chan you did it!" Levy exclaimed.

Lucy turned to them and smiled. The spirits all went away one by one but the ones she had a contract to before remained and instead turned into keys that gathered on Lucy's hands.

"Thank you everyone," Lucy muttered to her keys. She then faced back at Natsu and the rest who were running towards her when she suddenly felt tired and fainted on the ground. The last thing she saw was Natsu sliding to the ground and catching her in his strong arms with a worried look before everything turned black.

* * *

**A/N: **There's still the epilogue but that sums it up in a nutshell. Reviews for your comments. Thanks guys.


	21. Chapter 21

**EPILOGUE: Who Knew?**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters.

* * *

**Four days after**

Birds chirped outside a small clinic where a blonde mage slept peacefully. Lucy was aware of something warm holding her hand and when she looked beside her, she saw a mop spiky pink hair. She smiled knowing fully well who was the man sleeping beside her who was squeezing her right hand every now and then and murmuring the words 'Lucy' and 'love you' while sleeping.

Lucy chuckled at the cute sight of Natsu sleeping beside her. She tried to take her hand away from his grasp but the moment she withdrew it, he woke up with a start and grabbed her hand once again.

Lucy giggled at how Natsu reacted looking worried after calling out her name and grabbing her hand.

"It's all right Natsu. I just want my hand back," Lucy said with mirth on her voice. Natsu let go of her hand and instead crushed her in a hug.

"You're awake. I've been so worried," Natsu whispered at Lucy. She patted his back and he slowly let go sitting on the bed and putting his hands down to hold both of Lucy's hands. She smiled at him and Natsu grinned at her.

"Sorry to make you worry again. It seems the only thing I'm good for is making you worry," Lucy said. Natsu rubbed her hands with his thumbs and shook his head.

"I'm just happy you're okay Luce," Natsu said.

Lucy looked down at her hands. She loved seeing those hands hold hers. It felt right for her and she smiled knowing that.

"I like it," Lucy said absent-mindedly.

"Huh?"

"I mean our hands. I like it like this. It feels nice and they look perfectly good together. Makes me feel safe," Lucy said.

"There's something missing though," Natsu said.

"Huh?" This time, it was Lucy who was caught off guard. Natsu took out something from his pocket and showed it to Lucy. Her eyes widened at seeing what it was.

"Natsu… that is…" Lucy was speechless. In front of her and sparkling from the sunlight was the ring Natsu showed to him back in the old cathedral.

"Luce, I love you and I have been itching to ask you this for a very long time so I'm cutting all the crap that Lisanna taught me about going down on one knee," Natsu said and earned a giggle from Lucy.

"So Luce, will you marry me?" Natsu asked with his trademark goofy grin in place.

"Of course Natsu, I will," Lucy said with a radiant smile on her face. Natsu took her hand and placed the ring on her finger.

"Fits perfectly," Lucy said. They each looked at each others eyes and then before they knew it, their lips were already upon each other dancing to the rhythm of their beating hearts. Natsu took his time massaging Lucy's lips before pushing it open with his tongue, encouraging Lucy to play along with it.

Lucy had her hands glued to Natsu's chest, with one hand gripping his vest and the other running over his toned chest. The kiss slowly died down and they held each others' gaze while resting their foreheads on each other. They both smiled and laughed a bit at each other before Natsu stole one last chaste kiss before enveloping Lucy on his embrace letting her rest on his chest.

They heard running footsteps from the door and saw the twins come in. After seeing their mother was awake, they scrambled towards her and hugged her on her waist. They climbed on top of the bed and were held by each parent.

"Mommy how are you feeling?" Kayla asked.

"Are you still sick?" Kiryuu asked.

"Why are your cheeks red?"

"Your lips are swollen, why is that Mommy?"

"Ne did you kiss Daddy when you woke up?"

"He was always here you know"

"He never left you"

"I don't think they'll be able to understand you two if you keep on talking simultaneously," Richard who was standing on the doorway said with a laugh.

"Sorry uncle," the twins said in unison.

Lucy was caught off guard. She really can't face Richard right now knowing that she has done nothing but hurt him and use him when she got down. But after hearing the twins call him uncle surprised her a lot.

"Oh Richard, thanks for bringing in the twins," Natsu said.

"No problem. Someone had to take care of them for a while since you refuse to leave Lucy here," Richard said with a playful smirk. Natsu just scratched his face with one finger while smiling nervously with a tint of pink on his cheeks.

"So how are you feeling?" Richard asked Lucy.

"I'm better now. Thank you for everything Richard," Lucy said.

"Don't worry about it. You're all guests here in the village and you did help save us after all," Richard said.

"So Natsu, I see you've finally asked her about it," Richard said playfully looking at Lucy's ring finger. The twins both looked at her finger and saw the ring that they didn't notice earlier.

"Wow… That's a shiny ring," Kiryuu said.

"Pretty," Kayla added.

"Does this mean that Mommy and Daddy will be getting married?" Kayla asked.

"Will you marry Mommy now huh Daddy? Will you? Will you?" Kiryuu asked enthusiastically.

The adults laughed at them and answered with a nod. They suddenly squealed in joy and rushed outside. Richard shook his head while laughing and approached the two.

"Congratulations you two," Richard said and held out a hand. Natsu gladly took it but Lucy hesitated a bit. Richard saw the look that Lucy had as if she was feeling guilty.

"It's alright Lucy. I've already accepted this long ago even before the wedding," Richard said with a smile. Lucy looked up at him and returned a smile.

"I'm sorry Richard. I've been selfishly inconveniencing you –

"What are you talking about? I'm fine. I want you to have your happiness. So again Lucy, Congratulations," Richard said with a smile and offered his hand to Lucy again.

"Thank you," Lucy said as she took the hand.

"Friends?" Richard asked while grinning.

"Friends." Lucy stated giving out an equal grin. Natsu looked at the two and counted to three before he separated their hands.

"All right that's long enough," Natsu said.

"Oh sorry Natsu," Richard said while sheepishly scratching his head.

"Oh come on Natsu. Jealous already?" Lucy said. Natsu just looked at her indifferently for a moment and Lucy pecked his lips which surprised him and made him blush. Richard just laughed at this.

All of a sudden, the room was filled with people after Kiryuu and Kayla told the guild about Natsu proposing. Mira and Lisanna were the first to arrive who were squealing like pigs while Erza followed profusely blushing.

"Natsu we heard you proposed already, is it true?" Mira asked, hearts starting to form in her eyes.

"Did you do exactly as I told you to?" Lisanna asked being equally as excited as her sister.

The two just sweatdropped at the siblings. The girls started to crowd Lucy with questions while the boys threw theirs at Natsu.

"Did you say yes Lu-chan?" Levy asked.

"Definitely. Lucy-san said yes. Juvia knows this," Juvia said answering for Lucy but with an evil glint in her eyes for having one less love rival with Gray.

"We have to arrange the wedding immediately," Mira said.

"I'll help you out Mira-nee," Lisanna said. The two clapped their hands together and started to shower hearts with their squealing.

"If there's a celebration, there's sake. Count me in," Cana said.

"C-c-cong-gratulations-s-s L-lucy," Erza said completely mixing up herself with Lucy's situation.

"Lucy-san congratulations!" Wendy said.

"Looks like Erza's getting mixed up already," Charle said.

"Who'd have thought you had it in you torch breath," Gray said grinning while smacking Natsu's back.

"Shut up underwear princess," Natsu retorted.

"So Salamander finally confessed huh? Thought you had no guts at all gee hee," Gajeel said.

"Proposing is… a MAN!" Elfman yelled.

"That didn't make any sense at all," Romeo said sweatdropping at Elfman's antics.

"He lllliiiiiiiiiiiiiikes her," Happy said rolling out his tongue at Natsu.

"Let's party brats!" Master Makarov announced. Evrybody else just cheered while Natsu and Lucy just blinked at the commotion.

"They're already making a huge ruckus about it," Lucy said.

"It's all right. This is what makes Fairy Tail fun after all," Natsu said with one of his signature grins. Lucy just smiled with a stain of pink on her cheeks. She settled her head on Natsu's chest and Natsu kissed her on her forehead. The twins went up to their parents and hugged each parent.

Lucy looked at how perfect everything was right now. She was with her family now. Nothing can come between them anymore and what's more is that she will be married to the best friend she never thought she will love. She has everything she has ever wished for now. Her friends. Her children. Her Natsu. Who knew life could be so perfect for her? She looked at Natsu again and he gave her a warm smile before kissing her passionately once again earning wolf whistles from their guildmates who were eagerly watching the two until Mira fainted from too much excitement.

* * *

**A/N: **That's a wrap! Again I want to thank you guys for all the support and for following this story. I hope you will also support my next project although I'm not so sure who I want to use as Lucy's partner for the next fanfic. I still can't decide between Natsu, Gray or Sting because they all make a good pair with Lucy. Anyway, thanks again. Until next time guys.


End file.
